Where the City Ends and the Dead Ends Meet
by Yaushibee
Summary: A chilling murder leads a pink haired detective and a nosey journalist to investigate the string of crimes that have been happening all over the city of Magnolia. Will they get to the bottom of it? And what does the largest corporation in all Fiore have to do with all this? Modern Police AU. Rating subject to change.
1. Prelude

Well, it finally happened; my love of cop shows collided with my biggest obsession known as Fairy Tail. Hope you enjoy my first fanfic and please review if you did!

* * *

The river below the Mavis Bridge in the city of Magnolia usually didn't draw much attention to itself. It was rather disregarded and perhaps puny when compared to the greatness of the glistening white bridge above, though it had its own charm. When the light hit it just right, its surface sparkled magically. Today, however, there was no sunlight to amplify the river's natural beauty. Rather clouds hung heavily over the whole county, threatening rain at any moment. The river instead shown with a different light which was that of red and blue flashing beacons atop cop cars and other law enforcement vehicles. Groups of police were scattered around the river bed themselves, the largest cluster surrounding the west bank.

When the rain finally quit flirting and began pouring down, was when another car arrived at the scene. It lulled to a stop, and after about a minute a man with a distinctive white scarf and a notably green face stepped out. He approached the biggest group and cleared his throat.

"Detective Dragneel." A short bluenette woman spoke as he approached, a smile curling on her lips at the sight of his discoloration. "Still getting car sick, I see?"

"Can it, McGarden." The man threatened, tugging on his scarf. "Tell me about the victim."

McGarden shrugged, her smug grin still present, before turning to look down at the body several feet from her. It was laying face-down half in the chilling water and half in the wet soil. The clothes and skin were stained red with blood, but the short, ivory white hair of the woman was still notable. "Still no ID but we're certain it was a murder." She said bending down, pen in hand to point to the pinpoints of death. "There are multiple gunshot wounds to the back, which we believe is the primary cause of death."

The detective frowned to match McGarden's fallen smile. Being in the force so long, he was used to seeing these things but it still was difficult to look at. Especially when the victim's hair color matched _her's_ so much. He turned away, pushing his dampening rose locks out of his eyes, McGarden standing to follow. The Fairy Tail crime unit bustled around them as they continued to go over the details. It wasn't until they had reached Dragneel's car before he finally noticed something was missing. "Hasn't that weird writer shown up here yet?"

Officer McGarden's grin appeared again but she quickly whisked it away. "Not yet."

"Hmh."

"Why do you ask?"

Dragneel raised an eyebrow, confused. "Normally she'd be poking around here by now like she always does at crime scenes lately. It's almost out of place for her not be here annoying us all."

"Ah, I don't mind her. She's nice, and I think you'd be cute together." McGarden stated, leaning against the flame red car. The man didn't say anything back, instead simply opening his car door, effectively shoving McGarden away from its glossy surface. The woman shot him a glance before heading back to her work. He sighed. It was one of _those_ glances, the ones that Mira often gave him. Those two really needed to stop hanging around each other so much.

Before he could pull away, Dragneel's passenger door quickly flung open, revealing a well-endowed blonde who slipped into the seat beside him. She had on her usual attire; a tight pencil skirt, a pleated navy blue jacket, and a low cut blouse just covering enough of her cleavage to be considered acceptable in the work place. Her keys dangled at her hips as she slid in (what an odd place to keep your house and car keys) and her high pumps dragging in mud onto the mat. Another sigh escaped Dragneel as her caramel eyes glittered with excitement and her pen clicked before sounds of scribbling filled the car.

"Good morning, Detective Natsu Dragneel." The blonde greeted, a smile spread on her lips as she looked away from her notepad. "What happened at the crime scene today?"

"Lucy." Natsu frowned. He considered not telling her anything, but if he didn't give her something she'd never leave. "It's a young woman, maybe mid-twenties, who died from gunshot wounds."

"When did they find her?"

"Early this morning."

Lucy licked her lips before asking her next question. "Do…do you think Brain did it?"

"I can't release information like that!" Natsu exclaimed, crossing his arms in annoyance. Lucy let out a sigh of her own, placing her note book on her lap and her brows coming together. She was going to try and pout, he knew it, but he would NOT give her any more than that, especially since he knew so little himself.

"Thanks again, Natsu." Lucy grinned, giving a tap on the car hood before striding away with a star patterned umbrella over her head. She gave a little wave before making her way up the steep slope. Natsu gritted his teeth. How did it happen that he ended up telling her _EVERYTHING_?

He slumped down in his seat. She must have some charm about her that ended up letting himself slip, telling her things normally considered classified. But she was practically part of the force, right? She certainly surrounded herself with them all at every possibility, most notably himself. Not that he minded just…_uhg_. What was he thinking? Certainly too much.

Natsu quickly pushed himself up in his seat, switched on the engine and put the car in gear. He pulled the car out of the area and headed back to the station.


	2. Chapter 1

Ready? Because here's the next chapter! I'd like to thank Pineapplestraw on tumblr for being the official beta tester for this story. Not only did she help with the actual writing a ton, but she was the one to encourage me to continue on with my idea originally. So thanks a bunch, Di!

Also, thanks goes to all those who favorited, followed, and reviewed last chapter. I'll try to come up with a schedule for updating and stick to it, along with having longer chapters (sorry I know this one is kinda short again). Enjoy!

* * *

Natsu sat at his desk later that afternoon, the rain coming down hard on the window panes behind him. He spun a pen idly in his hand while he stared listlessly at his computer monitor. The police department was close to empty aside from himself, and a few others who were milling about minding their own business. Most of the officers had been called to the crime scene of the white-haired Jane Doe, or out on separate calls. The stillness of the office combined with the lulling sound of rain was quickly putting him to sleep.

It was then that a woman with long scarlet hair approached his desk. She smacked her hand firmly down on the desk, snapping him right out of his little nap. He let out a little squeak as his eyes moved up to meet a glowering brown pair.

He gulped. "Hi, Erza."

The woman known as Erza frowned down on him, placing her hands on her hips. "Sleeping is strictly not allowed in the office. You know that, Natsu," she reprimanded him, frowning. Natsu opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off. "Which leads me to another thing: telling journalist classified information—no matter how nice they may be—is also not permitted and cannot go without punishment."

Natsu frowned. "You mean Lu—Miss Heartfilia?" he asked, correcting himself. At this point he was already sweating bullets under Erza's scrutiny. He didn't need to be making things worse by casually calling the cause of his troubles by her first name.

"Yes," Erza nodded, her hair swaying in its ponytail as she did, "she published another article containing information which the Chief did_ not_ wish to be presented to the public. Now he has to hold a press conference explaining the situation. Your loose lips have once again caused more trouble for him than necessary."

Natsu took another gulp and readied himself for the worst when he heard a low chuckle. His eyes darted in the direction of its source and found it, to his displeasure, belonging to his raven haired rival. The man was leaning over the cubical wall with a Styrofoam cup brimming with fresh coffee, his expression smug. "Doesn't Dragneel always cause trouble regardless?" he said, taking a sip once his laughter died down.

"Fullbuster…" Natsu gritted his teeth and sent a glare in the man's direction.

"That is true," agreed Erza, crossing her arms over her chest. "Although, so do you, Gray. Just last week you lost your shirt three times while out on a call and the Chief received at least five letters of complaints over other offenses you committed by your indecent exposure."

Natsu let out a snicker at Gray's stupefied expression, which he instantly regretted as Erza's glare landed back on him. "Speaking of which," she said, her voice growing more wicked with each word, "Natsu, the Chief would like to talk to you about the dozens of letters he received concerning _you_, along with the situation regarding Miss Heartfilia."

Natsu released a cry as he was forcefully yanked from his desk chair and dragged in the direction of Chief Dreyar's office by Erza. Even though he and Natsu didn't get along most of the time, Gray couldn't help but feel pity for the man. Even if it was just a little.

* * *

Unlocking her front door, Lucy stepped inside the main hall of her small flat and slipped off her muddy high heels. She placed her keys on a small cabinet by her door and hung her coat up on one of the many hooks lining the wall. It had been a long, mucky day and she was ready for a nice soak in the tub to relax her aching muscles. Making her way further into the flat, she hummed to herself an old 80's tune, the idea of lounging in a sea of bubble soap lifting her tired spirits. She was going to head straight to the bathroom when her stomach rumbled with hunger and instead directed herself to her kitchen.

"I wonder if I should order in for dinner," she mused aloud to herself as she peered at the contents of her fridge. Even by her standards, there wasn't much to eat.

"Chinese would be good."

The blonde's eyes grew wide in alarm and she whipped around with a loud cry. Her heart rate slowed to normal however as her eyes met those of a certain detective. "Natsu, how did you get in here?" Lucy demanded in a shrill voice. "You're a man of the law! You should know that breaking and entering is a crime."

Natsu winced at her high pitch, his ears still ringing from being chewed out by the Chief earlier that day. "Relax, I'm always here. You shouldn't even be surprised," he said, waving her off.

Lucy resisted the urge to growl. He was right, after all. By this point his intruding shouldn't have shocked her nearly as much as it did. Natsu would constantly show up on her doorstep, or sometimes even appear already inside relaxing on her couch when she got home. It had been going on like this ever since the first time she invited him over. How she regretted that decision now. "That still doesn't change the fact that you're here at all," she grumbled under her breath, leaning her weight against the counter.

Natsu merely laughed but then his expression grew serious. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Lucy raised a brow at this. "What about?"

"You've got to stop printing the things I tell you about investigations."

"Huh?" Lucy was confused. "What do you expect me to do then? You're my main source of information—regardless of how inaccurate it can be at times—I'll get fired if I don't write something good that the other papers don't offer."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to write every little thing I tell you. Or else _I'll_ get fired," Natsu countered, crossing his arms.

Lucy considered responding back with something snarky but instead let out a sigh. It was true that if she published the wrong thing, then Natsu would get fired and have nowhere to live. He'd come crying to her and being the pushover she was when it came to him, he'd end up being at her place twenty-four seven and she'd never get any privacy ever again. She paled at the thought. "Okay, okay. I'll try my best from now on to be more careful with what I write."

Natsu grinned that wide smile of his. "Good. Now how about that take-out?"

_Uhg._

* * *

Having finished her meal, Lucy leaned back into her sofa feeling full and revitalized. She still hadn't taken a bath but that could wait until Natsu was gone. Currently he sat beside her, finishing off the last of his drink and flipping through the television stations for something entertaining. Lucy watched him silently from the corner of her eye for awhile before asking the question that had been plaguing her mind all night. "Have they figured out who the woman was yet?"

Natsu gave her a skeptical look. "I swear, I'll keep it to myself," she added quickly, raising her hands in defense.

He hesitated to answer but finally sighed, hitting mute on the remote to silence the sitcom he was watching. "The coroner identified the woman this afternoon to be a miss Sorano Aguria. She was only twenty-seven."

"Oh," Lucy said simply. _So young._

"You asked before if it was Brain who was behind her death." Natsu continued after a minute, surprising Lucy. He kept looking straight forward at the tv set, his demeanor serious again. "You might just have been right."


	3. Chapter 2

Greetings! I want to say thanks again to those who've reviewed, followed, or favorited the story. It makes me happy to know you guys like it. Also I want to apologize since this chapter wasn't properly beta'd yet. Hopefully it's still alright though. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

That night Lucy laid wide awake in her bed. Though her eyelids were heavy and in major need of rest, she couldn't sleep even if she wanted to. Her mind was still whirling over the conversation she had with Natsu a few hours prior.

_"You asked before if it was Brain who was behind her death." Natsu continued after a minute, surprising Lucy. He kept looking straight forward at the tv set, his demeanor serious again. "You might just have been right."_

_Lucy's face scrunched up in confusion and she blinked rapidly at him several times. Her stupor didn't last for long though as the reporter inside her pushed its way forward. The time to celebrate and reflect on the moment in which Natsu said she was right could come later. "What makes you think that?" She finally asked._

_"Sorano worked at Brain's organization, Oracion Seis. She had been missing apparently for three days yet no one reported her as M.I.A."_

_Lucy shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah but even so, how does that lead you to that I'm right and Brain is really involved?"_

_"I don't know, you're the one who suggested he might be behind it in the first place!" Natsu counted. He shook his own head and turned back on the volume on the television. Lucy just crossed her arms and sat back into the couch she hadn't realized she had been on the edge of, too lost in her thoughts to respond again._

Suddenly the bedroom curtains illuminated with a flash of lightening and the rumble of thunder that followed shortly after snapped Lucy out of her reverie. Her eyes darted over to the red digital display of her clock and finally she couldn't take it anymore. Pushing aside the comforter, Lucy quickly retrieved her laptop from her desk and returned to the warmth of her bed. The screen of the device lit up the bedroom walls with a blinding white light as she pulled it open and Lucy winced at its brightness.

It didn't take long before the laptop completed booting up and she was on the internet. Quick as the lightening outside, her fingers glided over the keys to type her query into the search engine. Dozens of results popped up and she selected the first. The link led her to an article on the trial of Jellal Fernandes which happened four years back. If Lucy recalled correctly, the man was believed to be framed but was still proven guilty due to lack of evidence in his favor. She was about to click the article off when something caught her attention.

"'During the last weeks of the trial,'" Lucy read aloud, "'Cipherius Z. Brain, founder of the organization Oracion Seis, stepped forward to fight the allegations against Fernandes. When questioned why he was so invested in the matter, Brain simply stated that he didn't wish to see an innocent man sent to prison. His efforts proved to be fruitless however as the court ruled Fernandes to be guilty.'"

Lucy scanned through the rest of the article but there wasn't any more mention of Brain. In fact, though she looked through many articles about Cipherius Brain after that, only the first one made any mention of his intervening in the Fernandes trial. She tried narrowing her search to just the trial and Brain but again there were no results besides that one. "That's curious," Lucy said, raising her brow. She was going to try searching again when her eye caught the time readout in the corner of her screen.

"Woah!" Lucy exclaimed, jumping up from the bed with wide eyes. The commotion startled her Scottish Terrier awake who was in his dog bed on the other side of the room. He stared up at her with glassy eyes, watching her place her laptop back on the desk. "I have work in four hours, I don't have time to be reading any more articles."

She shuffled back over to her mattress and curled up in the sheets but not before patting the space beside her. "C'mon, Plue, let's get some shut eye." Obediently the dog scampered over and made himself comfortable in her arms, the two of them quickly falling into slumber.

* * *

The morning air was thick with humidity the next day. The showers from the day before had stopped shortly before sunrise but it left the whole county feeling damp. The humidity combined with the scorching summer sun, made it difficult to breathe and unbearable to be in for those without air conditioning or anyone unlucky enough to be stuck outside. One of those unlucky people happened to be Lucy as she waited on the sidewalk outside of the Oracion Seis headquarters. Beads of sweat dripped down her back, making her all the more uncomfortable, and she groaned. She could just go back to the office but at any moment a large SUV was supposed to pull up. If she'd left now, the past half-hour of waiting would go to waste.

Just as Lucy gave a glance to her wrist watch, the vehicle in question rounded the corner and lulled to a stop at the curb a few yards away.

The driver exited the car to let his passenger out and Lucy took that as her cue to approach. As she grew closer, she could better make out the man getting out of the SUV. He had tanned skin that boldly contrasted with his pure white hair, which was pulled back into a low ponytail, and he was wearing an expensive looking gray suit. "Have the car ready at noon sharp, I have a lunch meeting." Said man ordered the driver. His voice was deep and only added to his intimidating presence.

Lucy gulped and tried to work up her nerves. No turning back now. "Excuse me, mister Brain?"

Brain barely tilted his head in recognition and began walking towards the entrance of the headquarters. Lucy quickly tried to keep up, the heels of her ankle boots loudly clicking on the concrete. "I'm Lucy Heartfila, a journalist from Magnolia Press and I have a few questions concerning one of your former employees."

At this Brain, ceased his stride and turned directly to face her. "One of the press is it, then? Alright, which employee might you be referring to?"

Though his tone was personable, the chilling feeling Lucy received under his gaze made her wish he hadn't looked at her at all. "Um," she fumbled, "a miss Sorano Aguria."

The name seemed to cause something to shift in Brain outward demeanor and as he opened his mouth speak, a woman came abruptly between the two. Lucy stumbled back and for a brief moment a look of surprise passed Brain's features. "What happened to her? What did you do to her?!" The woman shouted.

"Ma'am, I do not know what you're talking about. Please you and Miss Heartfilia escort yourselves elsewhere, I have work to attend to." Brain dismissed them both and began to walk away.

He didn't get more than two steps as the woman forcefully yanked on his sleeve, spinning him around to face her again and holding her grip tight. "Sorano Aguria!" She yelled, saying the name very clearly. "She is one of your top employees. No one reported her missing and then she wound up dead. How did that happen? What did you do to her?"

Brain scowled down at the woman, his eyes flaring with something Lucy couldn't describe but his voice remained calm as he spoke. "Ma'am, I ask that you please remove your hands from my person or I'll be forced to called security."

"Not until you tell me what you had done to Sorano!" The woman harshly spat back, defiantly tightening her hold on him.

The words seemed to be the last straw and with a snap of his finger, Brain had five security guards at his side prying the woman off him. She hurled several insults in his direction but they fell on deaf ears. Somehow Lucy was made a part of the chaos as well, and both her and the woman were escorted-rather, roughly Lucy might point out-to outside front gates.

Lucy felt dumbfounded, silently wondering how what just occurred happened as she stared at the gates. All she wanted was some information about Sorano to put into her article, and perhaps maybe some kind of leads in favor of her suspicions. Well, so much for that.

Sighing, she brushed a hand through her disheveled hair and glanced a look at the woman beside her. Now that things had calmed down, Lucy could get a good look at her. The woman had a short bobbed hairstyle that appeared to be a light blue, almost white in the sunlight. She wore a simple tank-top and shorts, both a different shade of blue. She was actually quite pretty, Lucy noted.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lucy called out to her.

The woman turned her heated glare away from the Oracion Seis headquarters, giving a weak nod. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get you dragged into that, miss uh," her voice trailed off into nothing and she looked to the ground.

"Heartfilia," Lucy finished for her, "but you can just call me Lucy, if you'd like. Uhm, may I ask who you are?"

The woman nodded again and replied without emotion, "I'm Yukino Aguria."

So maybe Lucy hadn't hit a dead end after all.


	4. Chapter 3

Hi guys! I got a new (finally longer) chapter for you and an announcement. Normally I try to upload the chapters around Sunday however, for the next couple weeks, there won't be any new chapters at all. _I will be writing them_, don't worry. I just want to get the story almost completely written first before uploading again so that there will be no gaps in the plot (basically, it's all for continuity sake). Sorry! I might be writing some oneshots in the meantime though, we'll see.

Also I would like to point out that my amazing headcanon-goddess/friend, Meg, drew the fabulous cover for this story. Isn't she great!?

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

"So if you're ready, please explain."

Sitting across from Lucy, Yukino took in a deep breath, her eyes lingering on the half-empty glass in her hand, but didn't say anything. She was hesitating, Lucy could tell.

Lucy had brought her to the small coffee shop in hopes that a cold drink would help speed things along but it had already been twenty minutes and the woman had yet to say a word about her sister. It was a bit grating for Lucy as all she wanted was for Yukino to just confess every little detail but at the same time, she didn't wish to pry or force the woman to do anything she didn't want to.

"Sorano and I were never really close." Startled, Lucy looked up from her notepad which she had been doodling on when Yukino spoke. The woman was still staring at her glass but at least she was talking.

Lucy set the notepad down and leaned into the table to give the woman her full attention. "Go on," she prompted.

There was a long paused but slowly Yukino began to explain. "When we were little, our parents divorced. Our father got full custody of my sister and our mother got me. Because of that we were separated all the time and never really got to know each other. I think that separation is why my sister turned out the way she did."

Lucy cocked her head to the side. "Turned out what way?"

"Working for a criminal." Yukino answered bitterly.

The tone in her voice sounded harsh compared to her normally soft spoken manner but it was far from surprising after the display she had seen earlier. "You mean Brain?" Lucy implored, even though she knew the answer.

Yukino nodded sullenly, her mouth set in a scowl. "Ever since she started working for him, something about her changed. It was like she wasn't even the same person. She even started going by a different name."

"And what was that?"

"Angel."

There was something odd about the name Lucy noticed as she quickly jotted it down in her notepad. It seemed almost familiar, like she had heard it before but she couldn't put her finger on it. A sudden laugh from Yukino brought Lucy back out of her thoughts and she looked up from her notepad just in time to see Yukino shaking her head with a wry smile.

"'Angel,'" Yukino repeated with tears gathering in her eyes, "it's almost funny how that's the opposite of what she became."

Lucy opened her mouth to speak but Yukino raised a hand in objection, shaking her head once more. "No, it's alright." She said, wiping the tears delicately with the back of her hand. "Anyways, I tried repeatedly to convince Sorano to quit but she refused and after a time, I gave up. It had been three months since I last spoke with her after that, until she called me sometime two days ago."

Lucy tilted her head again. "About what?"

"I'm still not really sure," Yukino sighed, sliding back into the cushions of her seat. "She was talking about all these strange things-something about Nirvit, mostly. None of it made sense to me. But I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was frantic. I was so fed up by her behavior though, I brushed the call off and didn't think anything of it. Maybe...maybe if I hadn't, she might still be alive." Her voice cracked at the end, the tears returning. She hid her face in her hands, quietly sobbing.

Lucy rose from her seat, moving to Yukino's side and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She had gathered all the information from her as she could and that was enough. "Thank you for sharing this with me." Lucy said, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder. "I'll take you home."

Yukino didn't reply, just nodded her head as the tears continued to fall and gathered up her belongings. Together the two left the coffee shop and headed for Yukino's apartment.

* * *

Standing in front of an expansive window in his office, Brain looked silently out on the land his company owned and the many factories that laid hidden behind the front of the OS headquarters. His features were shadowed in the dim light of the room, the sun still hanging on the other side of the horizon.

From behind him approached a scraggly looking man late in his years. Even in the shadows his skin appeared to be made of ivory, the color reaching the depths of his hallowed face and the tight wrinkles that framed them. He spoke up, his voice booming in the quiet room where only an eloquent ceiling fan gave way to any noise. "Cobra has returned, sir, and wishes to know what he should do about Miss Aguria."

Brain moved his arms to a neatly folded position behind his back. He made a displeased grunt and tilted his head to the side. "Tell him to dispose of her, she is a hinder to our plans."

The man nodded. He turned to leave but stopped at the door, his hand paused on the handle. "And what of the reporter?"

A lowly smile formed on Brain's face, his yellowed from age teeth gleaming in the little amount of light. "We'll leave her be for now but tell Cobra to keep an eye on her. If he gets indication that she might be onto something, he has my permission deal with her as he sees fit."

An equally lewd smile crawled its way onto the man's lips before he pulled the door open and stepped out. "Understood, sir."

* * *

"Natsu, here's your order."

Natsu's eyes turned up to meet a pair of shining blue and he smiled at the owner of them. "Thanks Mira," he nodded taking up the drink in his hand and moving it to his lips. The cool liquor stung his dry throat but cool his dry pallet. He set the liquid down again as the woman flounced away to serve another customer at the other end of the bar. Her long white hair bounced in its usual fashion as she went, its bright form moving like a ghost in the dim sports tavern. Natsu watched it disappear before spinning round in his stool to face the rest of the room.

It was after work and many a men and woman were enjoying their happy hour. They mostly stuck together in groups at the booths, others gathered around one of the several pool tables. Some, like Natsu, sat idly at the bar either chatting with someone beside them or gulping down their drinks, their eyes caught on one of the televisions hung above the shelves of alcohol.

The room was devoid of any one he knew so Natsu spun back around in his seat with a bored look and let his own eyes wander to one of the screens. The one closest to him was set to a national news station, currently reporting on new developments on the cold war out East.

Taking another sip of his drink, Natsu read the subtitles on the screen but quickly grew bored of the message as well. He was about to call after Mira for a refill or some seasoned nuts, _something_, when a cool arm was thrown over her shoulder.

Instantly Natsu knew who the limb belonged to, the strong smell of cologne giving it away. The aroma of it always burned at his nose the second he was in close enough proximity, sometimes even enough to trigger his gag reflex.

"Hey, Dragneel." Gray greeted, claiming a stool beside his co-worker. He let go of Natsu's shoulder to signal to Mira for his usual and turned back once she had indicated that she understood. "I've got something to discuss with you about the case."

"What's that?" Natsu asked, trying to inch further away from the man. Thankfully the smell of the product had faded from when it was first applied that morning but Natsu didn't want to take any chances of losing his drink.

"I looked further into the corner's report and apparently the body was covered in this unidentified substance."

Natsu didn't get it. "Yeah, so?" he asked, chewing on a plainly salted peanut; they would taste much better if they were spicy.

Gray gave him a 'are-you-serious-right-now' look and sighed when Natsu made no indication that he was. "We tested the waters near where she was found too and the samples tested positive for traces of it." He explained, trying to keep it as simple as he could. "We're going to try and investigate the waters northward from where she was to see if they show signs of having the substance in it as well."

Natsu seemed to listen more closely now. "If it does, could that mean that someone is polluting the water?"

"Possibly," Gray said simply with a shrug. Mira came then with his chilled drink. It had a little umbrella in it and Natsu had to hold back a laugh at the 'pansy' drink.

It was then that his cell rang in his pocket, the tune sounding similar to that of a video game. Natsu quickly flipped the ancient device open-it was what he was stuck having now since he kept breaking the nice ones-and smiled upon seeing the caller id. "What's up, Lucy?" He answered into the receiver.

"Natsu listen, I got some information about the Sorano case." Lucy spoke. There was a sound in the background that sounded like the clicking of heels, no doubt her own, and the ruffling of paper.

Natsu's smile slipped a little, unable to help the slight disappointment he felt that the only reason she was calling was to talk about a case. Gray stood beside him then, drink in hand and tapped Natsu on the shoulder before walking off to another end of the bar where other officers from the station had just arrived. Natsu nodded at him before turning back to the phone. "Yeah, what about it?" He prompted Lucy, trying not to indicate any change in his voice.

"Today I went to the OS headquarters to speak with Brain-"

"You what?" Natsu exclaimed before she could even finish. Several eyes nearby turned to look at him quizzically at the shout and he moved away, lowering his voice. "What did you do that for?"

"It's not what you think," Lucy hurriedly objected, the sound of shuffling paper stopping, "I was there because my boss asked me to so I could get info on Sorano. It's public knowledge now that she worked there after all."

Natsu visibly relaxed. He switched the phone to his other ear and took a short sip of his drink before saying, "So what info did you get?"

"I didn't get any, or at least not from Brain." Lucy explained. "Right before I could even try he was...er, confronted by this woman out of nowhere. It turns out-" there was a pause where a dangle of keys could be heard and a soft clicking, followed by a whoosh of a door being opened, "-that the woman is actually Yukino Aguria, the sister of Sorano."

Listening carefully, Natsu took another gulp of his drink. "Then what?"

Lucy grunted, as if annoyed by the memory of what happened. "Because of the commotion she caused, her along with myself, were thrown out of the headquarters by a bunch of these hulking body guards."

Natsu nearly spit out his drink at the comment and began laughing heartily. "That must have been a sight."

"Natsu, it's not funny." Lucy chided but despite herself, joined in on his laughter. Once the joking was aside, she continued. "Anyway, I spoke with Yukino afterwords and turns out she Sorano actually goes by the name Angel."

Upon hearing the name, Natsu righted himself in his seat. "You don't mean...?" The question trailed off into nothing and Lucy on the other end raised a brow.

"Mean what?" She asked.

Natsu shook his head out, the pink spikes swaying just a little, the hair gel keeping it mostly in place. "It's nothing, just the name Angel..." his voice grew silently again before picking up again. "She was involved in some small crimes way back when I first joined the force, though we were never able to nab her. All we knew is that she went by the name Angel."

"Really? What kind of crimes?" Lucy inquired.

"Nothing too important," Natsu said then, his voice back to normal. "Anyway, Lucy what are you doing?"

"Oh," Lucy said, "I just got home and am going to start making dinner now."

A grin grew on Natsu's face. "Is that an invitation to join you?" He would accept a free meal any night, even if Lucy did sometimes overcook things.

"No." Lucy replied dryly.

"Well make sure to make enough for me, because I'm coming over anyway." Natsu said firmly and hung up before she could object again. Throwing a few bills onto the bar counter first, he snagged his jacket and headed for the door and to some free food.


	5. Chapter 4

Okay, here's one more chapter before I go on hiatus (see chapter 4 for more info). Also, the story rating has changed, sorry guys. Hope you don't mind a bit of gore.

EDIT: Did some proof-reading and fixed some grammar.

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

A low buzzing noise resounded throughout the small bedroom, startling Lucy awake the next morning. With blurred eyes and still half awake, she snagged her vibrating cell phone off her nightstand and pushed it to her ear. "Hello?" She mumbled groggily into the receiver.

"Lucy, something has happened."

The seriousness in the voice was enough to wake Lucy up completely. She quickly shot up from the mass of pillows and sheets, waking Plue up beside her in the process. The dog released a yawn and then stared at her with hazy but curious eyes. "What do you mean? What happened, Natsu?" Lucy asked hurriedly.

There was a short, hesitant pause before Natsu spoke again. "Yukino Aguria was found dead in her apartment this morning." He said.

The words struck like a bell in Lucy's mind, freezing her in her spot. For a moment all she could hear was the rush of blood in her ears, the pounding of her heart, yet she couldn't even breathe. Image after image of Yukino's face flashed before her eyes. It was too much.

"Lucy?" Natsu asked worriedly.

"H-how?" The question fell off of trembling lips as Lucy fought to hold back the tears already pearling in her eyes.

"Lucy, I don't think you'll want to know that." Natsu objected, concern evident in his voice.

"How?!" Sobbed Lucy back, unable to restrain the emotions anymore.

The line went silent before a heavy sigh could be heard and Natsu finally answered. "One of her roommates came back from working the third shift and found her body in the living room. It..it's obvious it wasn't an accident."

Lucy choked back the tears long enough to ask her next question. "You mean someone killed her?"

"Yes." Natsu responded sullenly.

On the other line, Natsu could hear the sounds of her sobbing grow louder and a pang of emotions washed over him. It pained him that it had to be him to tell her that Yukino had been murdered but then, it couldn't have come from anyone else either. He stared at his feet silently, wishing he could do something, /anything/, to help her but knew it was a fruitless desire. And he hated feeling useless.

"Listen, Lucy." he began then, a set determination in his tone. "I don't want you coming to the crime scene. Have another reporter take your place, whatever, just please don't come."

"No, I'm coming." Came the shaky reply. There was a stubbornness there that left no room for protest.

Natsu wasn't going to give up that easily though. "Lucy, don't co-" he was cut off by a void sound as the line went dead. Annoyed, Natsu hit end on the cell and stepping out of the alley he had ducked into to talk. He shoved his phone into his back pocket, heading back to the crime scene. There really was no point in arguing with Lucy, she was as stubborn as him if not more, but he really had hoped she would have just listened.

Only just this damn once.

* * *

The bustle of another police scene surrounded the small apartment building, illuminating its faded red brick surface with flashing lights. Around the barrier were several groups of curious citizens trying to get a first hand look at what had happened. Currently Lucy was pushing her way through the crowd, looking half put together and already exhausted despite it only being a quarter past eight. The familiarity of it brought back the still fresh memories from the day before when she had escorted Yukino home, urging her forward.

When she reached the barrier, she was intercepted by officer Droy, who she recognized to be one of Levy's partners. "Lucy, I'm sorry I can't let anyone pass." He said, his arm stretching out in front of her as if to keep her from going around him.

Lucy shot him a fierce glare. Though his intentions were good, he was in her way. "Natsu asked me to come." She lied quickly, hoping the fib would be enough to appease him.

Droy gave her a skeptical look but moved his large form aside, allowing her to go. In passing, Lucy gave him a less than cheerful wave of her hand in thanks and marched forward into the building.

Once she entered the building, her nose was hit by an awful stench that wasn't there yesterday._ It smells like burning flesh_, Lucy thought as she covered her mouth and nose with her hands. Her hand dropped and her eyes widened in realization. With all her might she pushed her way up the flight of steps until she reached the very top level. Brushing past officers without concern, Lucy made her way to the very last door on the right where the smell was strongest. She placed a hand over her mouth and nose again and was was about to walk into the apartment when a strong arm caught her around her waist, pulling her back into the hall.

Lucy's eyes shot up in anger at the person who stopped her but softened when she met the hazel green pair that belonged only to Natsu. "Let me go, Natsu." She ordered, struggling to break free from his grip.

"I told you not to come, Lucy." He replied calmly, though there was a hint of anger. "You're not going to want to see this."

"And I told you I was coming anyway!" Lucy argued back. In one swift movement, she wiggled out of his reach and stumbled into Yukino's living room. Natsu's hand made to grab for her again but it was too late.

On the floor laid Yukino, her short ivory hair fanning out around her and her back facing Lucy. The odor of sizzled flesh leeched off of her body and struck Lucy so forcefully it was enough to send her stumbling back. Though the smell burned her eyes but she continued to look. She had to.

Slowly Lucy circled around the body, keeping a distance of at least a boot between her and it. A sharp gasp escaped her when she had come around enough to see what was left of Yukino's porcelain visage. If Sorano's remains had been bad, then Yukino's had been utterly gruesome. All of Yukino's nose had been melted off, the skin on her entire face scorched and bubbling with a hissing green acid. Parts of her shoulder and neck were also decaying from where the toxic liquid had splattered. Lifeless brown eyes looked back at the unmoving Lucy.

Lucy had resolved to stay strong but actually seeing what was left of Yukino was too much for her. Quickly as she could, she dashed out of the room with tears in her eyes that threatened to fall. Natsu made to follow her but his path was blocked by another officer that needed him for something. Begrudgingly he agreed to help, his eyes still locked onto the head of blonde as it disappeared down the hallway.

* * *

The car door slammed shut, switching off the automatic light and leaving the confines of the vehicle silent all except for the sounds of heavy panting coming from Lucy. She had run the whole three block trip to where she had parked her Neon. The warm air inside car was stifling, yet some how comforting to her at the same time.

Now that she was finally alone and away from the privy of prying eyes, she could let loose the emotions she had been holding back. The only noise that could be heard were muffled sobs as she she buried her face into her folded arms which rested against the steering wheel.

The tears continued until there was a when light tapping on her car window. Lucy jumped, slowly looking up to face the glass to see Natsu. He had a worried expression, and pointed to the lock on her door signaling for her to unlock it. Brushing aside some of the tears first, she did as she was told and Natsu quickly opened the door. A cool breeze flowed into the car instantly and refreshed the stagnant air inside.

"That's dangerous, you could have suffocated, Lucy." Natsu scolded. He leaned down and dipped his head into the car, his form shading her from the hot sunlight. The concern etched on his face increased when he saw how puffy and red her face had become.

"Sorry." Lucy replied back meekly, taking the back of her hand to wipe at her nose. "I should have opened a window."

Natsu sighed. "Hey, why don't you call in sick today and take it easy."

Lucy shook her head. "No..no I think some work will do me some good."

"Lucy." Natsu said. He placed a calloused hand atop hers, looking her straight in the eyes. Lucy tried to avert her own but the sincerity in his gaze made it impossible to look away. "Please just call in sick."

Releasing a shaky breath, Lucy nodded.

"Good." Natsu smiled. The gesture didn't hold the same level of magnitude that it usually did but it still had the its reassuring quality to it.

With another nod, Lucy put her keys in the ignition and the Neon quickly turned over. Natsu stepped away, about to close the door when she spoke. "Thanks, Natsu."

Natsu smiled a bit wider. "Any time, Luce."


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry for the wait! My computer keyboard and fan broke so I wasn't able to write any chapters at all during my hiatus. I'm going to try really hard to at least get three more chapters written by next week though so watch out for more new chapters soon.

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima

* * *

Gray set his third empty coffee cup on the desk and ran a hand through his already disheveled mop of black locks. He looked discouragingly at the papers spread out before him. Since he had last spoken with Dragneel the other night, he had been spending the better portion of his time looking into the mysterious substance found on Sorano's body. The test results for the water had come back positive but when he asked for a new sample to be tested, they showed no signs of the substance.

Furrowing his brows together, Gray leaned into his desk, his head resting on his locked fingers. Something wasn't adding up.

It was possible that the substance had diluted on its own, or it could have been manually removed. Though what was the substance to begin with? He wondered as he reached for one of the papers sitting before him. Neatly printed out on the sheet was the list of substance's chemical makeup and at the top corner the page was a small post-it note with a scrawled script. It was from the corner and Gray had probably read it a dozen times.

"'Abnormal, please investigate. From what I can tell, also highly toxic.'" Gray read aloud. With a loud sigh he dropped the paper back onto the desk and ran his hand through his hair again.

"Something the matter, Gray?"

Gray turned his head and found Erza standing beside his desk. "I'm still having trouble with this case." he replied, reclining into his swivel chair.

Erza tilted her head quizzically. "Which one are you referring to?" She asked, glancing down at the messy desk and picked up the paper he had been holding before. "Ah, the Sorano one, I see. Wasn't Natsu working on this?"

Gray shrugged. "We both are. There is just something about the chemical substance found on her body that gives me a bad feeling though."

"Natsu said Sorano worked at Oracion Seis, correct?" Erza inquired, picking up another page and reading it over.

"Yeah, he did but Oracion Seis only manufactures weapons-" Gray stopped mid-sentence, his eyes growing in revelation. Quickly he sat up and began shuffling through the papers and folders until he found the one he was searching for. "They make weapons but they're not cleared to make _chemical_ weapons. Their factories are too close to the river so the county never approved it."

Erza grabbed the paper from him and read it carefully herself, Gray anxiously waiting for her to finish. When she did, she looked at him as though she was beginning to understand. "If this chemical substance really is actually for a chemical weapon, that means we might be able to tie the company to her death." She stated though there was still an unsure quality to her tone.

"More than just that: Sorano worked for OS, they never got clearance to make chemical weapons, yet she was covered in the by-product of one?" Gray explained, standing to point to the page held in her hand. "If we can tie this substance back to them, we may just uncover more than Sorano's murderer."

The expression on Erza's face grew serious. "We need to discuss this with Natsu right away."

* * *

_Flip. Click. Flip. Click._

Sitting at his desk on the other side of the station was Natsu. Repeatedly he flipped his outdated phone open and shut, the annoying repetition of the act going unnoticed by him. His mind was elsewhere, trying to decide whether he should call a certain reporter or not. Since the incident with Yukino, he had only spoken with her briefly to find out that she had taken his advice and called in sick. It had been two days since then and that worried him.

His inner conflict was interrupted by a hand closing over his phone, effectively stopping his new found habit. Natsu's eyes darted upward to come face to face with the short but prominent presence of officer McGarden.

"Natsu, please _stop_. I can't concentrate on my work when you're making all this ruckus." She pleaded. Natsu nodded and set the phone on the desk, but his hands still fidgeted. This didn't go unnoticed by McGarden. "Is everything okay? You seem nervous."

"I'm just worried about Lucy." Natsu confessed, the words already slipping off his tongue before he could register he was about to say them.

McGarden raised an eyebrow, her expression showing concern and also mild entertainment. "Then why don't you call her, instead of breaking another one of your phones?" She suggested.

Natsu's gaze shifted to the phone, unsure of what to do.

Finally McGarden sighed. "How about this: I'm heading out from work early today and since her place is on my way home, I'll stop by and see how she's doing for you, okay?"

A smile lifted onto Natsu's features. "Thanks, Levy. I'd appreciate that."

McGarden smiled herself, patting him on the shoulder. "Anytime." She said while turning to leave. "I'll call you if anything is wrong."

Natsu smiled wider and turned back to his desk with a new piece of mind. It wasn't the same as personally making sure she was safe himself, but it was better than nothing. He was about to switch on his computer and actually get some work done, when a hand firmly grasped his shoulder and spun him around.

"Natsu, we need to talk." Erza said, Gray at her side.

* * *

The door handle jiggled and eventually turned to let a tired Natsu into his apartment. Lazily he threw off his shoes and shuffled into the low lit living room.

"Natsu! Welcome home." His younger sister greeted him from her spot on the couch. Her sapphire hair was tied up neatly in a tight pony tail that whipped around when she turned her head to face him.

"Hey, Wendy." He smiled tiredly.

"How was work?" She asked, reaching for the tv remote to lower the volume.

Natsu shrugged in response, moving to sit beside her. He had to push aside several of her textbooks to make room for himself. The question made his mind flitter back to the discussion he had with Erza and Gray.

_"So you're saying that OS might be making chemical weapons and Sorano was involved somehow?" Natsu echoed, leaning back into his desk chair with an unreadable expression._

_Erza nodded. "Yes, it's even possible that she was murdered because of her involvement in it."_

_"Aside from the chemical agent found on her body though, we have no evidence that we can trace back to OS. The chemical substance might even be from something else." Gray explained as he leaned against the cubical wall, arms crossed. "But it's are biggest clue so far and we have to at least try pursuing it."_

_Natsu was silent as he took in what they had just told him, his expression growing more serious the longer he thought. Finally he sat up straight, a fiery look in his eyes. "I bet if we can confirm that they murdered Sorano, we'll find out who killed her sister as well."_

_Erza and Gray both exchanged a glance before nodding in unison._

If it was the last thing he'd do, Natsu would find out who killed Yukino. It was important to discover who was the murderer of Sorano, of course, but now Yukino's death had much more precedence. His thoughts suddenly flickered back to Lucy for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. McGarden hadn't texted or called him so he was sure she was okay but he still felt worried. He pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket, flipping it open to reveal no new notifications, and scowled.

"You okay, Natsu?" Wendy asked, snapping him out of this thoughts.

Natsu shook his head, giving her a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I'm fine. How was class today?"

The teen didn't look convinced but contemplated her answer to his question for a moment, her hand gently caressing the mass of white fur on her lap. It purred quietly, its ear twitching in its sleep. "Difficult but fun." Wendy finally replied. "We have a test on Wednesday that I think I'm ready for."

"Good to hear." Natsu beamed, a hand gently tugging on her ponytail in a playful manner. His attention then turned to the news reports of the cold war on the tv. He payed little attention to what was being said, his mind already getting lost in the conversation from earlier again, when Wendy spoke up.

"Um, Natsu? There's something I have to tell you, er show you really." She fumbled over her words, reaching for a letter that was placed on a stack of textbooks by her feet. She handed the letter to him, biting her lower lip.

Natsu studied the letter, flipping it back and forth in his hands, the government issue postage and return address easily giving away to who it was from. "What is it?" He asked though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

Wendy sucked in a breath of air and gave her somber reply. "They want me to testify at Jellal Fernandes' retrial."


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

From his vantage point at a coffee shop across the street, he saw the blonde strut down the sidewalk in her high heels and tight pencil skirt, her long legs catching his less than honorable attention. A thin eyebrow raised, a lude grin spread on the redhead's lips as he continued to watch her make her way into a small bistro.

"Doing your job well, I see, Cobra."

Cobra's dark eyes turned to meet the hallowed pair of one of his associates. "Mister Klodoa, rare to see you out in the sunlight."

The pale skin on Mr. Klodoa's face stretched into an unamused smile, the bright midday sun giving him an almost ghost-like appearance if not for his dark business suit. Since his stature towered over Cobra, it proved that he was still a member of the living.

"Brain wishes to know if you're keeping a proper eye on the reporter." Mr. Klodoa stated simply.

Cobra raised his eyebrow, questioningly. The two shared a lasting look of disdain before the younger of the two sighed. "You can see for yourself that I am." He replied. "And why don't you sit down already, you stand out like a birch tree in a pine forest."

It was Mr. Klodoa's turn to sigh though he took a seat in the metal cafe chair beside Cobra and folded his hands neatly on top of his briefcase in his lap. He squinted his eyes in the direction of the bistro across the street. "Has she made any headway?" He asked, his voice lower than usual.

"After Yukino, she hasn't bothered even going to work. Today is the first day that she's even left the house." Cobra replied, taking a slow sip of his caffeinated drink. "Besides, if she does, she's an easy target."

A hint of a smile slipped onto Mr. Klodoa's lips at the comment but he grew sober upon speaking again. "There's something else Brain wished me to discuss with you."

Cobra simply took another sip of his drink and nodded for him to continue.

Snapping his briefcase open, Mr. Klodoa pulled a folder out and handed it to Cobra who opened it to inspect the contents. "Richard Buchanan." Mr. Klodoa began as he read. "For some time now his loyalty to the company and our project has been questionable. As long as the reporter isn't causing a trouble, Brain wishes for you to trail him instead and eliminate him. All the information you'll need on him is in that folder."

Cobra was silent and handed the folder back to Klodoa. "If that's what the boss wants," he said, leaving the sentence hanging.

Pleased, the ghost of a man stood, that eerie smile back on his lips. "Glad we're in understanding." Mr. Klodoa said. He turned away, disappearing into the noon day crowd.

Giving one last glance to the bistro, Cobra threw his empty styrofoam cup into a nearby trash can and made his own stealthy escape, planning how to 'eliminate' the next person whose blood that was going to be on his hands.

* * *

"What was the name again?"

A large man with the rolling curls of orange hair turned his eyes from the door of the precincts and to meet officer Jet's. "Richard Buchanan." He answered hastily but careful to pronounce each word clearly. "I must speak with detective Dragneel at once. I have very important information pertaining to the case concerning Sorano Aguria."

The fellow orange-haired officer glanced questioningly to his partner Droy beside him who shared the look. Clearly the man before them was in a rush, nervous, and could possibly be up to something.

"Right this way, sir." Jet finally said, leading the man back into a meeting room. When Richard had seated himself he quickly left, telling him he'd go retrieve Dragneel for him.

It wasn't a long wait before both Natsu and Gray were came into the room, Jet following after. Richard stood to greet them, his nerves seeming to calm at their presence.

Gray spoke first. "Officer Jet says you have information about Sorano Aguria?"

"Yes!" Richard replied exuberantly but then shook his head. "Well, actually no." The two detectives exchanged a look with each other while Richard sat down in his chair once more. "You see, it's not about miss Aguria personally, it's about the case itself. More specifically, the company she worked for."

Natsu perked up at this. "Tell us what you know." He demanded.

"Oracion Seis, I work for them as well." Richard confessed. "I work in a different department than where miss Aguria did however. She mostly worked in developmental planning, I mostly dealt with the shipping of our products."

"Weapons." Gray corrected.

"Y-yes, weapons." Richard sullenly nodded before continuing. "Well, recently I was approached by my boss, Brain. He wanted to know the cost to ship something our company normally doesn't supply."

Gray and Natsu shared another glance before Gray raised a hand to stop Richard before he could say more. "Hold that thought, I'm going to get our sergeant in here so she can hear this too." He said before dodging out of the room.

Meanwhile, Natsu pulled out one of the chairs at the table, the metal legs causing a scraping sound that filled the silent room. He sat down roughly, the impatience clear on his face. Richard sat nervously across from him, watching the door for the return of Gray. Natsu took this time to study the man's face. His facial features were sharp, almost like a carefully sculpted gem that made Natsu wonder if he hadn't had some major plastic surgery. He had a friendly enough presence though, if you got over his jittering.

The door to the room swung open to reveal, Erza marching into the room, her vibrant hair swaying behind her like usual and Gray at her elbow.

"Mister Buchanan, I'm sergeant Scarlet." She said, extending her hand in greeting. Richard briefly shook it before Erza pulled away and sat at the head of the table. "Detective Fullbuster tells me that you work for Oracion Seis and have information to tell us."

Richard nodded. "It was several months ago when I was approached by our CEO, Brain, and as I told these two, he wanted to know how much the rates would be to ship a mass cargo of something he didn't specify."

"That seems pretty odd." Gray commented, leaning forward in his seat.

"At first, I was confused by his inquiry as well but brushed it off until I watched the news coverage on the events going on out east" Richard replied animatedly.

"Yeah, so what?" Natsu prompted, clearly confused by the connection he was trying to make.

"It's not /what/ he wanted to ship, it's /where/ he wanted to ship it to." Richard paused, his eyes shifting nervously to the door and then back to the three before him. A seriously expression masked his face before he spoke again. "Brain wanted to know how much it would cost to ship to our rival bordering country. If I were to hazard a guess, he wants to supply weapons to our enemies."

* * *

"Do you think we can trust him?" Natsu asked, leaning back into the chair.

Erza crossed her arms over her chest, silently contemplating the question. "It's highly possibly he was telling the truth." She finally said, though she herself didn't sound all that convinced.

"It's another lead, at least." Natsu shrugged.

"It is, but we don't even know if what Brain planned to ship was a weapon. It could have been any number of things." Erza countered.

"Or it could have been the chemical weapons."

Both Erza and Natsu simultaneously turned their heads in Gray's direction. The raven haired detective had all but remained silent since Richard had left, sitting quietly in the corner of the meeting room. Even now he still didn't meet their gaze.

"What do you mean, Fullbuster?" Natsu asked.

"Gray, we still don't have confirmation those even exist." Erza refuted. "We can't get ahead of ourselves by assuming things."

Gray stood up abruptly, his arms moving animatedly as he spoke. "No but think about it, Sorano worked in development. Maybe they are in the planning stages of making it-"

"They still can't make the chemicals though." Erza interjected, cutting off the beginnings of his tirade. Gray swallowed under her level stare. He knew he shouldn't have spoken up without the proper evidence to back it up but he also _knew_ he was right. Thick silence filled the closed off room, as neither Erza nor Gray losing eye contact with each other.

"Okay, so say Fullbuster is right." Natsu interrupted, the two's eyes breaking free of their stare-down and turning their gazes to him. "Say the toxic chemical found on Sorano really is from chemical weapons that OS are making, that Brain wants to ship said weapons to Seven. This is more than just a murder case now, it's possibly treason."


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

Gray was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the crime. The usual tell tale signs of one surround him; the flashing blue and red lights, the array of crime scene investigators searching in every nook and cranny for any evidence, and the corpse at his feet. They were all things that anyone who had been a detective for as long as Gray had were used to. As he looked down on the discarded body before him, his phone rang, the ordinary tune ringing clear in the bustling atmosphere.

Gray pulled the device from his pocket, taking a quick glance at the caller id before placing it to his ear. "It's safe to say that we can trust him now." He answered into the receiver, turning away from the body feeling it was disrespectful to talk over the man's remains.

"What makes you say that?" Erza asked, her voice hard to hear over the noises around him.

"If he was important enough to kill," Gray replied somberly as he got inside his black cruiser, "then surely his intel had to be worth something."

Erza went silent on her end and Gray did also as he pulled away from the crime scene of Richard Buchanan's murder.

* * *

Only the sound of typing could be heard in Lucy's cubical, all the others around her giving off the same racket. The noise didn't give her the content feeling it usually did. It had been three days now since Yukino's death and for those past three days Lucy hadn't gone into work once. Truthfully, she still didn't feel like being there still but Lucy knwe that if used anymore of her personal days, she'd end up regretting it. Pushing away the tempting thoughts of curling into her bed sheets and never seeing the light of day again, Lucy carried on with her work. Currently she was writing an interest piece on local art galleries in the area. Though it bored her, it at least got her mind off Yukino.

As she hit the period key on her keyboard, effectively ending her paragraph, she let out a dissatisfied sigh and sat back. She stretched out her arms above her head, eyes glancing to the clock on the corner of her screen. It was just after eleven, meaning that there were just a few more hours of work she had to get through. Plus lunch was only an hour away, she thought a little more cheerfully.

Her stomach rumbled at the idea of dining at her favorite cafe when a flash of pink came into her peripheral vision. Startled, Lucy jerked to the left, her heart pounding. "Natsu!" She shrieked, several people in the room briefly glaring in her direction.

"Hey, Lucy, I know it's early but I brought you some lunch." Natsu said as he hunched over her. A brown plastic food bag dangled in his hands and he had a grin plastered on his face, no doubt from the amusement he garnered from catching her off guard.

Embarrassed, Lucy snatched the bag from him and inspected the contents. Inside were two subs neatly wrapped in white parchment, some napkins, and an unopened soda for each of them. "These are from..Virgo's Cafe?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Yep. I hope you like meatball subs." Natsu replied, his grin widening.

A small smile played on Lucy's lips and a small blush fanned out on her cheeks. Not only had he gotten the food from her favorite eating establishment, he also had ordered her favorite item on the menu. The sweetness of the gesture made something flutter up inside her. "There's a park a few blocks down we can go eat these at." She told him, pushing her chair away from the desk.

Natsu straightened, swiveling her chair around for her so she could stand. "Let's go."

* * *

"You mean Oracion Seis was really behind Sorano's death like I thought?" Sandwich crumbs fell from Lucy's gaping mouth as she stared at Natsu in disbelief.

Natsu held back a laugh at her comical response and nodded. They were sitting at a bench under a large oak tree in the park, the shade from the tree shielding them from the rising heat of the mid-day sun. Natsu had already devoured his sub by the time he had finished briefing her on the new developments of the case, though she still had about half her food to go. "It's not confirmed for sure yet, but we're pretty sure it was then." He informed her, raising a hand to her chin to brush off the bits of bread and sauce that lingered there.

Lucy pulled away at the touch, her ivory skin turning a shade of pink as though she were a schoolgirl. Quickly she took her napkin and wiped around her mouth, as he chuckled. Once she was sure her face was clean, she threw the napkin into the empty bag and cleared her throat. "This Richard you mentioned, do you think he might be telling the truth? If he is, shouldn't we try to get more information out of him?" She asked, leaning back into the table with her head resting on her palm.

To this, Natsu turned away his gaze and his smile dropped from his face. "I don't think that will be possible." He frowned. "This morning, Richard was found dead in an alley way."

"That's..awful." Lucy murmured. Her eyes were wide and if Natsu wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of fear in those pools of chocolate brown.

"We do know now that he was telling something of the truth." Natsu said, his frown lessening.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He had to be killed for a reason and our guess is that it's because of what he knew." Natsu offered.

Lucy nodded morosely and averted her eye down to what was left of her meal. With her fingers, she picked absently at the corner of the bread and a silence fell between them. Minutes passed and the stillness was only interrupted when Natsu spoke again. "Which brings me to something else." His voice was low, sounding almost out of character as he said the words. At this, Lucy looked up from the meal she no longer had the stomach to finish, but his eye didn't meet hers. Instead he was looking out at the park around them, her mouth drawn in a tight line.

He paused for what seemed like centuries, the curious side of Lucy making her heart pound just a bit faster in eagerness. Finally when he turned his gaze to meet her's, she swore her heart actually missed a beat. There was a smoldering in those jade orbs, an almost need in them that startled her so and they bore into her as he spoke again. "This case keeps getting more and more dangerous to those involved; first Sorano, her sister, then Richard. I'm not even sure if I'm safe anymore. But Lucy, regardless of what happens to me, I'll be _damned_ if you get hurt or worse because of this too."

Now Lucy was certain her heart had skipped a beat. Taking in a shaky breath, she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know after those responsible are put behind bars but before that, promise me you won't keep trying to figure this out. I only want you to be safe. Please, just promise me that."

It alarmed Lucy the amount of pleading in his voice, accompanied by the dead set resolve written on his features. It almost pained her to see him like this, she couldn't say no.

"I promise."

* * *

She hated lying.

Even worse, she hated breaking promises. But even as Lucy walked back to her work alone, the only thing that her mind could do was reel with all the new information she had just received about the case. As long as no one knew she was trying to solve it, what could they do? Plus once they did finally figure out who was behind it, then she could say to herself that she was right, or possibly even wrong. There would be no harm in that, right?

Besides, she couldn't stop thinking about it if she wanted to. As she sat down at her desk, she neatly pushed aside the papers strewn across it and pulled out a blank sheet and pen. She began writing down what she knew already about the case, from what happened to Sorano to the possibility chemical weapons to Richard's death that morning. But something wasn't adding up.

Idly, she tapped her pen to her chin. Oracion Seis didn't have clearance, let alone the facilities to create such chemicals to support Gray's theory. And surely, if they had, everyone would have heard of it. Several years back when they first tried to gain permissions to make weapons of that kind, they were firmly denied and there was a lot of commotion surrounding it. Now, the company was as quiet as ever in the eyes of the public.

A frustrated sigh escaped Lucy and she sat back.

Maybe it would be better if she left well enough alone like she had promised Natsu. Clearly she wasn't going to get anywhere with her half-pieced together information. With another sigh, she pushed aside the paper she had been working on and turned to her laptop. At the very least, she could distract herself again with the mundane articles she was assigned to write.

"Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"He's getting a retrial."

Lucy's ears perked up. Looking over, she saw that a few cubicals down two of her fellow employees were chatting, one leaning against the wall and the other sitting in her desk chair. They both had food in there hands and Lucy presumed that they were taking their lunch breaks. Knowing better than to eavesdrop on their admittedly loud conversation, Lucy tried to focus back on her work but the attempt was lost when one of the woman replied again.

"Jellal Fernandes? I thought they wrapped that up years ago."

"It was always believed that he was framed for the accident though, I guess they found new evidence in his favor."

"What new evidence could that be?" The other woman asked, followed by her taking a long sip of her soda.

"Apparently they found this girl who was a witness to the whole thing."

_A witness?_ Lucy thought as she edged closer in the women's direction. _Eavesdropping is wrong, _she tried to remind herself but she continued to listen closely. She got the feeling that she was going to learn something major from this.

"Did you know that the board has been scrambling to find a new successor at Fernandes' Chemicals?" The same woman continued. "If Jellal is released from prison, he'll be the one to take over the whole corporation."


	9. Chapter 8

I'd just like to let you all know that I love Cobra and his personality, however for this story I took a lot of artistic liberties on his character. I hope that someday I'll be able to do his character justice and write a fic where he isn't OOC. Anyways, thank you for all the reviews last chapter and I hope you enjoy!

(And sorry in advance..)

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

As soon as the clock said five, Lucy was already at the door and on her way home. She didn't even stop on her way to pick up her dry cleaning which she knew was more than ready. Her mind was elsewhere and only focused on that one thing. Or rather, two things.

As she strode down the busy sidewalk, Lucy nervously fiddled with the cellphone in her hand. She knew she had _promised_ him she wouldn't work on the case, yet she had done the exact opposite. Well, if eavesdropping counted as working anyway. Maybe if she told him in person what she discovered, he wouldn't be nearly as upset with her. Because she knew that he would indeed most certainly be upset. As she stopped at a crosswalk, an idea struck her. Maybe food could help appease him? In her experience it had always worked before.

Taking in a deep breath first, Lucy finally dialed the number she knew by heart and placed it to her ear as it began to ring.

* * *

From only a few feet behind her, Cobra followed Lucy at every turn as though he was her own shadow. It was no longer strictly necessary for him to him to be trailing her to this extent, but it at least gave the man something to do. Taking care of Richard had only been a small struggle, if you could call it that. The man had gone down in less than a minute, just a simple lethal injection to his neck. Cobra hadn't even broken a sweat, unlike what went down with Yukino. Now she had been a fighter. Not a screamer though, which he was thankful for.

Cobra wondered if when the time ever came, how the blonde just steps away from him would do when he came to take her life, and a snake-like grin slithered onto his lips.

Oh, she would definitely be a feisty one.

"-why don't you come over for dinner?"

Snapping out of his own twisted fantasies, Cobra listened in to the phone conversation Lucy was having. At some point he had missed her taking her phone out to call someone and she had also walked a farther distance from him than he should like. Though his hearing was above and beyond average, he still didn't want to risk losing her in the crowd. Quicken his pace, he continued after her.

"No reason in particular.." Lucy said into the phone, her voice trailing off.

Whoever was on the other line seemed to reply with something that made her face light up, though it wasn't from joy. More like relief. Then her expression seemed to turn into one of guilt as the person on the other end said something more. Her head began dipping down low, and she didn't say anything for a moment.

"Actually, there is something I want to talk to you about." She said lowly, Cobra having to strain to hear her words. Her head drooped lower after the person responded to what she said and she spoke again. "I know I wasn't suppose to think about it, but I think I solved the case."

Cobra stiffened. He was in a crowd of people; she was talking to someone that he didn't know _about a case_, no doubt the one revolving around Angel. If she said anything, gave who ever she was speaking to the apparent final piece of the puzzle, he would be completely unable to stop her and then it would be too late.

Suddenly, Lucy's head shot up. "I'm sorry, I swear I didn't mean to! It just happened by accident." She argued into the receiver startling those around besides just Cobra. She spoke again, her voice quieter but still carrying an angry undertone. "Listen, I really am sorry but you have to listen, this is important. Just meet me at my place and I'll tell you about it over dinner."

There was a pause where several emotions flashed across her face as the other person answered. Once they were finished, Lucy said a calm 'thank you' and hung up. She dropped her phone into her purse and continued walking ahead until she abruptly turned and went into a pizzeria, no doubt to get their supposed dinner. Cobra however didn't follow after her as usual, instead taking this moment to dart into an alleyway off to the left.

This bought him some time.

* * *

Lucy climbed up the staircase leading up to her flat, her three inch heels clacking against the metal steps. In one hand she carefully balanced the warm pizza box and with the other she held tightly onto the railing. Though she had successfully convinced Natsu to join her, he had sounded mad on the phone like she guessed he would be. She just hoped that once he got here, he would accept the pizza as a peace offering and hear her out about the case.

Admittedly, it was a lot to hope since she had just broke a promise with him that she made mere hours ago.

With guilt still wracking her, Lucy reached her floor and began her trek down the short hallway to her door. She unclipped her keys from her belt as she approached it and slid the right key into the lock. It opened with a click and Lucy pushed the door open, stepping inside. She slipped out of her shoes and set her keys down in their usual spot. She was about to turn around to shut the door when it closed on its own with a slam. An chill ran down her spin. Something wasn't right.

With a gulp, Lucy spun around on her heels to come face to face with a pair of jet black eyes as cold as a death itself and a heinous grin to match. It was like a scene out of a horror movie; her purse and the pizza box clattered to the floor, a terrified shriek escaping her as she stumbled back from the shadowed figure. She spun around to run out of the small entryway but a hand latched onto her wrist, pulling her back. A scream caught in her throat as her body was forcefully pinned to the wall.

"You're just too smart for your own good, aren't you?" The figure whispered into her ear. By the force of his weight and the deepness of his voice, it was clear that her attacker was male. Panic began to rise in Lucy and trickles of sweat formed on her brow as she tried wiggle herself free. It was a vain effort however as it only served to cause the man to tighten his grip and press her harder against the wall. "It's sad that it had to come to this." He continued. "I really have grown fond of you over the past few weeks but see, my employer wouldn't be very happy if you went ruining his plans now would he? So it seems I'm going to have to kill you."

Lucy heart rate skyrocketed at his words. _Had she heard him right? _She prayed with all her heart that she hadn't but as something sharp pricked at the nape of her neck, she was certain that she had. But she refused to let him do so.

With a burst of adrenaline, Lucy used all her strength to propel herself off the wall, her body colliding with her attack's and their heads knocking together. A pain seared through her skull from the blow they both received and her vision went blurry. From behind her she could tell her her attacker was suffering from the same and she knew she had to shake it off while the situation was still in her favor.

While he was still caught off guard, Lucy ran as fast as her feet would carry her away from him. Her footing slipped several times on the smooth hardwood as her head continued to swim. All she could hear were the sounds of her own heavy breathing and the rush of blood inside her ears. Her only focus was reaching her bedroom at the end of the hall. If she could just make it there, just make it inside and lock the door, she could use her house phone to call the police. It was her only hope.

But that hope quickly vanished, along with all the color from her face.

Lucy hadn't even noticed him approaching but her attacker had once again grabbed hold of her wrist just as her foot entered the threshold of her bedroom doorway. Instead of against the wall, he slammed her onto the carpeted flooring, his body weighing over her. The attacker licked his lips, his breathe coming out in heavy pants. Lucy's eyes grew wide in terror as she realized that perhaps not just her life was at stake in this moment. Uselessly she tried to wiggle free again but his tight grasp on her didn't lessen.

"I was right," the man said, his breathing calming but his eyes shining with wild pleasure, "you are a feisty one."

Lucy's thoughts seized up as he pulled a syringe out from his pocket, no doubt the same object he had pressed against her throat before. Her body went limp beneath him as reality finally struck her.

_She was going to die_.

_She was going to die and all because she hadn't kept her promise with Natsu_.


	10. Chapter 9

I had to rewrite this chapter several times since I just wasn't happy with it, but with the help of my friend/editor Anna, I'm liking it much better and I hope you all will too. As always, thank you all for the wonderful reviews and please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

As Cobra lowered the syringe to her throat, he noticed that Lucy had stopped struggling. Had fear gotten the better of her? Or had she simply come to terms with her imminent death? He frowned down upon her, the wild look in his eyes fading.

"You're no fun." He said raising the needle away by a margin. "Have you already given up?"

Fear-struck eyes met his but she didn't make a move, and he shook his head in disappointment. Suddenly there was a faint click, like the opening of a window. The noise echoed through the heavy air and had Cobra and Lucy waiting with baited breath, both for different reasons. As they listened anxiously for some sign of the noise again, a voice boomed from the silent kitchen.

"Lucy, I'm here."

If possible, Lucy went even stiffer under Cobra, however hints of relief had etched themselves onto her face. Not mistaking her next actions, Cobra clapped a hand over her mouth before she could let out a scream, it instead coming out as a muffled cry beneath his palm. He lowered his head down beside hers, whispering in a menacing manner, "Not a sound." The man's breath come out unbearably hot in her ear and her entire body shuddered in response but she didn't speak a word. Pleased at her compliance, Cobra raised his head and focused his thoughts on how he was to deal with their new visitor.

The male voice called out again, seemingly from the entryway. "Lucy, you here-?" His sentence dropped off and lingered in the air. Then after a lull, he began calling out Lucy's name with an increasingly panicked edge in his voice.

Rushed footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway now and Cobra began to sweat. His eyes darted down to Lucy and was startled by the sudden determination laced within her fearful eyes. He didn't even have time to register what she was doing when her hand somehow wiggle free and reached up, smacking the needle from his grasp. She shrank away from the glare he gave her, before his gaze shot up and nervously scanned the floor nearby for the syringe. He spotted it half way across the room, near her bed and well out of reach. The echoing steps grew louder, causing Cobra to panic at the realization that he had no other means of quickly killing her at his disposal.

_No wait_, he thought as that heinous smile crept back onto his lips. _He did have **one**_.

* * *

A gnawing uneasiness built in the pit of his stomach as Natsu made his way down the dim hallway. His gun was drawn and ready for whatever might jump out at him. He only hoped to find Lucy, alive and well, not even wanting to consider the alternative. Several haunting images flashed unbidden in his mind and he had to push them back to stay focused. They served only to distract him and he needed to be on his best game at that moment. But, as he rounded the dark corner of the hallway leading into her bedroom, all his focus was lost and his blood ran cold.

Standing before him was an unrecognizable red haired man holding Lucy in a headlock, a handgun placed firmly against her temple. Natsu noted the crazy glint in the man's eye, the way the man's finger played with the trigger, and how he kept running his tongue over his lips. It was a sight that shook Natsu's very core, though as he met Lucy's terrified gaze, his heart almost stopped altogether. She looked helpless and pleading, her entire body shaking in fear.

"You know," the man said, drawing Natsu's attention away from Lucy and back to him, "normally I don't like guns. They're too loud, hurt my ears. Quite messy, too."

Natsu's scowl deepened. It took everything in him not to launch himself at the man and throttle him with his bare hands. But, instead he didn't make a move as the man held the weapon closer to Lucy's head. She let out a small whimper at the added pressure and Natsu raised his own gun higher, pointing directly at the man.

"You wanna know what I do like about them though?" The attacker continued. He paused to lick his lips, twisted mirth shining his eyes. Then a slithering grin appeared on his lips and his finger danced ever more dangerously on the trigger. "They're quick."

Lucy shrieked as the deafening gunshot went off.

* * *

Only a dull ringing.

That's all Lucy felt. Not the tight hold of an arm around her throat, not the cold metal of a gun against her skin, not the presence of someone behind her; just the residual throbbing in her ears from the gun being fired.

Her eyes slowly peeled open to reveal a shakily breathing Natsu. Satisfied that he was alright, her gaze trailed downward to see tiny spots of red dotting the tan carpet and her pupils widened. She hadn't felt anything, so why was there blood? With a trembling hand, she touched the side of her head and pulled it away. Her fingers came back sprinkled with drops of blood, though it was not her own. Confused, she slowly her head swiveled around, following the trail of the crimson liquid on the floor and gasped as her eyes landed on her attacker. He was shriveled up beside her, blood pooling from his wounded chest and the gun in his hand laying limp at his side. Lucy gasped again as she stumbled away from the man, towards Natsu, who had since lowered his weapon to his side.

"Is he...?" Lucy asked barely audible, leaving the sentence hanging.

"No, he's still breathing." Natsu replied as he pulled his cell from his pocket. He phoned to station to call for backup and an ambulance, while Lucy hovered closely beside him, not daring to tear her gaze away from her attacker's form should he get back up suddenly and aim his gun upon them. She was rapt with rhythmic movements of his slowly breathing chest to a point where her eyes glazed over. A gentle hand on her shoulder startled her and she turned to Natsu. He had a look of concern written on his face, his eyes searching hers.

"You okay, Luce?"

Lucy's mouth pressed into a tight frown and she began to slowly shake her head. "No," she said carefully, then her lower lip began to shake, followed by her entire body. That was enough for Natsu. He extended his arms wide and she fell into his embrace. Her hands clutching onto his jacket as heavy sobs shook her. "I-I w-was so s-scared," she sniveled into his chest.

Gently Natsu rubbed his hands over her back, slowly rocking her back and forth. "I know, you're safe now." He told her soothingly.

Over the sound of her cries, he could hear faint sirens in the distance that grew louder by the second. It was only a matter of minutes until he knew that the apartment would be crawling with police. He would have to let her go when that time came. He glanced to the barely breathing man laying crumpled on the floor, furthering his resolve. Whoever had hired him to put a hit out on Lucy, Natsu would get them. Whether that meant having to hide his feelings for her so he wouldn't be taken off the case for being 'too personally involved', he would do it. She meant too much to him to let these men get away with what they had done.

But, for just the few minutes left, Natsu could revel in being able to hold her close and be content that she was in the safety of his arms, where she belonged.


	11. Chapter 10

Sorry for the wait. Only a few more chapters to go before I wrap this case up. Hope you enjoy this one (sorry it's not my best work/hasn't had any proper editing) and thanks for the reviews/favorites/follows!

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

It wasn't long before the police and medical vehicles showed up. They surrounded the whole block and then some with their numbers. Armed officers were the first to enter Lucy's apartment, followed by a team of EMTs, all of which hurried to the side of the attacker. They quickly pulled out their medical kits to try and stop the bleeding, after an officer had removed the gun from his limp hand. The man had already lost a significant amount of blood during the wait of their arrival, making his normally tan skin look ghostly pale. His consciousness slipped in and out as they moved him onto a stretcher. As the EMTs carted him past the still-shaken Lucy and out of the apartment, the man spat several slurred words in her direction.

"My prayer could'unt be answer'ed." He repeated over and over.

The gibberish made no sense to Lucy, it only frightened her more. Trembling, she inched closer to Natsu beside her. Though as soon as the other police had arrived he had stopped hugging her, he still stayed within an arms length of her at all times. His presence was reassuring, giving her strength to hold back her tears. As the man passed by, Natsu protectively turned his body ever so slightly in front of her, as though he was shielding her from the man's hazy black gaze. He loomed closer to her until the man had been completely taken out of eye-sight.

"That scared me..."

"Just ignore him." A steely, yet feminine voice behind them said. It startled Lucy, making her realize that she had actually said her fears aloud. She quickly turned around and found the source of the voice. Sergeant Scarlet, or Erza as Natsu called her, approached them. Her fiery red hair laid loosely over her shoulders, standing out against the gray fabric of her fitted suit jacket. Lucy had only briefly met Erza a few times before and her shockingly red tresses still struck her like it had the first time.

"I'm just glad he's gone," Lucy murmured.

Erza gave a empathetic smile before her demeanor became serious. "Lucy," she said, "I know you've been through a lot tonight but we have to take you into the station for some questioning." Lucy was taken back by surprise at first but nodded her head in understanding. Victims often remembered things the better right after a traumatic event while it was still fresh in their mind, making it the best time to interrogate them. She knew that well enough. She just never thought she would be one of those victims.

"Come on, I'll take you in my car." Erza directed, beginning to walk away.

Lucy didn't move, instead casting a worried glance to Natsu. He shared the look but gave her a small smile as if to say it was okay. "I'll meet you there," He said. Lucy seemed to study him before hesitantly nodding, then quickly turning away to catch up with Erza.

As soon she was out of sight, the smile dropped from his face. He looked around Lucy's once homely apartment, now disheveled and invaded. From across the room he saw the large blood stain left behind on the formerly pristine carpet. His hand began to shake and he tightly clenched it into a first to steady it. An anger welled up inside him, yet Natsu couldn't bring himself to be outwardly upset. Instead he breathed a heavy sigh, turning away from the offensive blotch and headed out to leave. He had had enough of today, even though it was just beginning.

* * *

"Do you remember him saying anything else to you?"

Lucy looked up from her hands to meet Gray's eyes. Slowly she shook her head. "No, just that his boss wasn't happy with me."

"Did he say why?" Gray questioned further, leaning closer into the table.

"The only reason he really gave was that I..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes suddenly grew wide in realization, as though she had remembered something forgotten. "That I figured out something important in the case!"

Intrigued Erza, sitting beside Gray, sat up straighter. She tilted her head to the side. "And what was that?"

"Is it what you called me over to talk about earlier?" All eyes in the interrogation room turned to the door and were met with Natsu. Something fluttered up inside Lucy at the sight of him but she pushed it aside, giving a swift nod yes. "Alright then, let's hear it." He prompted, taking a seat beside the other two.

Lucy sucked in a deep breath before speaking. "Well you see, at the paper after lunch, I heard a couple of my coworkers talking. They were discussing Jellal Fernandes's retrial." Upon hearing the name, Erza stiffened in her seat but didn't speak. The action went completely missed by the others as Lucy continued. "It reminded me of an article I read some time back, about how Brain had fought the allegations against Jellal. Back when I read it, I thought it was really odd that someone without any connection the man would fight it so hard."

"That was four years ago though, if I'm not mistaken. What makes you think he's even connected to the case now?" Gray asked, sounding doubtful.

"It didn't seem important to the case to me either." Lucy admitted, then smirked. "That is, until one of the ladies said that Jellal stood to inherit the Fernandes Chemical company, if he were to be released from prison."

"You mean...?"

"Wait, there's more," Lucy interrupted Gray, leaning into the table. "I did some more digging and turns out, the number one person behind the push for the retrial and the one who brought it up again at all, was Brain."

Both Erza and Natsu stiffened this time. "_Wendy..._" Natsu thought worriedly, his mind flashing back to the court summons letter his little sister had received. He grit his teeth. Brain better not pull his little sister into this too or there would be hell to pay.

"If Jellal were to be released, he could very well work right along side Brain to make those chemical weapons." Gray mused aloud, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But even if Brain did help get him out, would that really be enough for him to go along with his plans?"

Lucy opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when Erza, who up until this point had remained silent, spoke. "He will help him." All eyes turned to her as she repeated the sentence, "Without a doubt, he will help him."

"Why would he do that?" Gray inquired.

Erza looked down, averting their gazes before she sighed and looked up again. There was a subtle painful look in her eyes as she replied. "Because Brain saved his life."

Silence filled the room, the words giving a heavy feel to the air. Erza sighed once more, the others hesitant on what to say. "But it doesn't matter as to _why_ Jellal would, just that he _would_ follow along with whatever Brain has planned without question." She continued with a heavy tone. "Before we even get to that point, however, we need to find a way to stop Brain's plans. As it stands now, even with all this, it's not enough evidence to link Brain to the murders or treason."

"Let alone to get a warrant to search for the weapons and get any proof they even exist." Gray added with a frown, slouching in his seat.

"But there is so much against him! Can't we just convict him somehow?" Asked Lucy frantically.

Erza shook her head. "It's just not enough."

Lucy looked helplessly between the three, her eyes landing on Natsu. She gave him a pleading look but he simply shook his head as well. Even though they knew Brain was guilty, there was nothing they could do.

* * *

Lucy ran a tired hand across her face. She was sitting at one of the benches in the nearly vacant police station lobby, a cup of untouched coffee in hand. It had been a long day and now it was close to ten o'clock, at least. She thought back forlornly to the pizza she bought hours ago, probably still laying tipped over in her front hall. She laughed spitefully, her earlier hunger completely gone. All she wanted was to was crawl into her bed and completely forget about this day. But to be perfectly honest, she didn't want to return to her apartment. The whole place was tainted in her eyes now and she doubted that it would ever feel quite the same again.

As she weighed the options of sleeping arrangements for herself and Plue that night, a hand gently grasped onto her shoulder. She instantly jumped, startled by the touch. The cup of now cold coffee nearly spilled all over her skirt but thankfully she was able to save it in time. Her eyes shot up angrily at the perpetrator and was relieved to see that it was Natsu, her annoyance instantly fading.

"Sorry," he said as he sat down beside her. In his own hands he held a mug with the same bitter coffee in it, only his was steaming hot. He took a careful sip of his drink before turning to her. "How are you holding up?"

Lucy sighed, looking down at her lap. "Tired but better than earlier," she replied in a joking tone, though there was no joy there.

Natsu frown and didn't say anything in response, instead studying her face. Her eyes were still red from crying and there were dark circles below them. Her hair was also disheveled, having fallen out of the neat bun it was in that morning. He thought back to the lunch they had together. It all seemed so far away now. He wished he could go back to the moment and redo everything that had happened since then.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." Lucy suddenly said, bringing him out of this thoughts.

Natsu's brows furrowed together. "What are you talking about?" He asked confused.

"About not getting more into the case, you warned me and I didn't listen. For that, I'm sorry." Lucy replied, her voice low. He could see that there were tears in her eyes again.

"Lucy..." He breathed. His heart clenched tightly at the sight of her tears again.

She dabbed the corners of her eyes, wiping some of the droplets away before they could fall. "If I had listened to you," she continued, her voice growing quieter with each word, "then maybe he wouldn't of..." Her voice trailed off into nothing.

Setting his coffee down beside him, Natsu turned to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Listen to me, Lucy." He said firmly."What happened today was _not _your fault. That bastard could have attacked you at any time, not just because of what you discovered today."

She shook her head. "But-"

"No 'buts.'" Natsu cut her off before she could protest. "Whether you listened to me or not, you are in no way responsible for any of what happened, Luce. Understood?"

Lucy's lower lip shook as she nodded, a few of the tears she tried to hold back falling down her face. "Understood."

Natsu gave her a warm smile, wiping one of the tears off her cheek with his thumb. "Good." He said before abruptly standing up, grabbing her hand to pull her up with him. "Now c'mon, it's late. I'm sure you'll want to pick up Plue from your place first, right?"

Lucy gave him a confused look as she stumbled to her feet. "First?" She questioned, tilting her head. "Where am I going after?"

"My place, of course." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.

"Your place?!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes wide and a blush spreading across her face.

"Yeah, you don't want to stay at your place after all and I don't mind sleeping on the couch now and then." Natsu explained. He grabbed his mug from the bench before beginning to drag her towards the exit.

_How did he...?_ Lucy silently wondered before brushing the thought aside and allowing herself to be pulled away by him without protest. _He just did and that's all that mattered. _


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

Hearing the sounds of the front door opening and the excited yaps of a dog, Wendy looked up from her textbook with a confused expression. She gave a glance to her equally curious feline, who laid lounged on her mattress, dainty paws stretched out before her. "I wonder who that could be." Wendy mumbled as she stood up from her desk. She nervously peaked out her bedroom door and was greeted by a small white Scottish Terrier, its stubby tail wagging furiously. It bounced at her feet, looking at her with interest.

Still perplexed, Wendy stepped out of her room, closing the door behind her to seal off her cat from the canine and walked down the hallway towards the front hall. The dog eagerly followed close behind, still yapping.

"Natsu?" Wendy asked as she spotted her brother. Standing beside him was a familiar blonde who, despite looking completely exhausted, glanced around the disorderly apartment with an expression of mild horror. Wendy smiled. She knew the feeling. Though she tried to keep the place clean, more often than not her efforts were wasted by her older brother's incurable messy habits.

"Lucy, it's been awhile, how are you?" She greeted cheerfully.

"Wendy." Natsu said, when Lucy didn't respond. The unusual tone of his voice caught her attention and that's when she noticed the large dufflebag in his hand. She raised an eyebrow, looking at her brother with confusion.

"Lucy is going to be spending the night." He answered her silent question. "I'll explain it to you tomorrow, alright?"

Slowly Wendy nodded her head and he gave her a small smile. He then brushed past her, heading towards his own bedroom, and leaving the two woman alone together. The tension in the air was caustic and Wendy found herself unsure of what to say.

Thankfully, seemingly sensing the bluenette's gaze on her, Lucy turned to her and gave a small smile of her own. "Hi." She said simply.

"Hi." Wendy replied. She nervously fiddling with her hands, trying to think of what else to do when she spotted the shaking dog at her feet and pointed to it. "Is he yours? He's really cute."

Lucy seemed to perk up a little at that. "Yeah, his name is Plue."

"That's adorable." Wendy smiled, bending down to pet the canine. He graciously accepted her caresses, tilting his entire body in her direction. Wendy gave a small giggle at his eagerness but no more words could be exchanged between the two as Natsu reappeared. The tension in the air returned as well and Lucy's mood dropped again, along with the small smile she had had.

Wendy glanced between her brother and Lucy's solemn faces and she finally grasped the seriousness of the situation, whatever it may be. But instead of saying anything, she continued to gently rub Plue's head as Natsu left again, Lucy following behind as he led her to his bedroom. He has said that he would tell her everything later and she had to trust that.

* * *

The next morning Wendy woke up extra early. Her classes were scheduled to their normal time but she wanted to have the chance to properly talk to her brother about last night. Though she had trusted him to tell her, she still couldn't hold back her curiosity. All night she had wondered just what the situation was. She had even held a one way brainstorm with Charle trying to figure it out. Finally she had just given up and gone to sleep, too tired to think of it anymore.

Now that it was a decent hour of the day, she couldn't wait to ask Natsu what was going on. As she crept out of her room, Wendy spotted the said man sprawled asleep on the living room couch. There was a light blanket draped over him and his gray cat, Happy, snoozing on his chest. Both of them emitted soft snores.

Wendy quietly giggled at the sight, shuffling over to the pair._ So he had given Lucy his entire bed?_ She lightly chuckled. At least one of her suspicions had been proved to be wrong. Figuring it would be alright to let him sleep a bit longer, she tip-toed away from them and headed towards the kitchen to put on the kettle. She didn't get far until she heard the soft creek of Natsu's bedroom door.

Plue was the first to burst through the doorway and into the living room. Upon seeing Wendy, he began playfully yapping to gain her attention. Lucy was quick to shush him as she stumbled out of the bedroom behind him. Her hair was disheveled and it didn't look like she got a very restful sleep, Wendy noted._ If she got any at all. _

"Hey," Wendy greeted in a quiet voice, "I was just about to make some tea, want some?"

Lucy nodded and Wendy gave her a small smile before leading her into the kitchen. She gestured to the table for her to take a seat and moved to the pantry to get the tea. She grabbed the two boxes-black tea and lemon grass flavor-and showed them to Lucy.

"Which would you like?" She asked, holding them out before her.

Lucy stared at the two containers before looking up to meet Wendy's eyes with slight hesitation. "A-actually, do you have coffee? I feel like I could use the caffeine."

Wendy blinked before giving her another smile. "Sure." She answered, turning back to return the black tea to the shelf, keeping the lemon grass out for herself. "I always try and make sure we have some since it's pretty much all Natsu drinks."

"He drinks that much coffee?" Lucy asked, her head tilting to the side.

Wendy nodded, giggling. "Hmh. If it's not coffee, then it's pop. He's got an awful diet."

"I've noticed." Lucy muttered.

"It's a good thing he eats with you all the time, otherwise he'd never eat anything healthy." Wendy continued, pouring fresh grounds into the coffee machine and switching it on once it was filled.

Lucy didn't miss the teasing tone in the younger girls voice and her cheeks tinted pink. "W-well," she stuttered, averting her eyes.

Wendy giggled again, quickly flicking on the stove for the kettle and joining Lucy at the table. "No worries," she smiled, waving her off. "Speaking of food, do you want anything to eat? I can make you something."

Lucy sat back in her seat, her face still burning but shook her head. "That's alright, thanks. The coffee will be enough for now."

"Just let me know if you get hungry." Wendy said to which Lucy nodded. A comfortable silence settled between them thenh, the small kitchen filling with only the sounds of the coffee brewing. The whole room filled with it's strong aroma. The scent seemed to rouse Natsu as the two heard him grumbling before finally he yawned loudly. Wendy and Lucy exchanged a glance before he emerged in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Mornin'" he mumbled though not all too cheerfully. Just like last night, there was suddenly a heavy tension in the air. Wendy opened her mouth to say something when the familiar melody of Natsu's phone rang throughout the whole apartment. He sighed before turning back and heading into the living room. The ringing ceased as he apparently answered the phone.

"Yeah?" He said. He went silent as the other person on the line spoke and Wendy and Lucy leaned forward, wanting to catch what he'd say next. Even with that effort, they could only barely make his last words before he hung up. "-I'll be there in twenty. Bye."

Both woman quickly sat back, trying to appear nonchalant, as Natsu returned. He looked to Lucy reluctantly, as if trying to decide something, then finally spoke. "_He's_ is out of surgery, apparently he's willing to make a deal."

Lucy visibly stiffened at his words. "What...what does he know?" She asked quietly.

Natsu shook his head. "Fullbuster didn't say; he wants me to meet him at the hospital."

Lucy didn't say anything back. Natsu stared at her for a moment before turning away to get ready, Wendy assumed, but Lucy reached out a hand to stop him. Wendy watched as Lucy stood and looked Natsu straight in the eyes, a determination set in her expression.

"I'm going, too."

"Lucy..."

"I don't want to see _him_ but-" She glanced back at Wendy who was watching their interactions with veiled curiosity. She lowered her voice to an almost inaudible level that Wendy nearly missed her next words, before looking back to Natsu. "I don't want to be anywhere without you."

Natsu met her intense gaze and Wendy didn't dare move a muscle in fear of disrupting them. The tension in the air increased until finally Natsu and Lucy were snapped out of their silent conversation when the kettle began whistling. Wendy remained seated as Natsu turned to the stove, turning off the burner, and looked back to Lucy.

"Be ready in fifteen." He said and once she nodded, he turned to Wendy and gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'll get your guys' coffee ready before you leave." She said before he could say anything. The siblings shared a look of their own before he gave another smile and then left with Lucy following behind. Wendy waited for the sound of doors closing, confirming that one of them had gone into the bathroom and the other into the bedroom, before sighing.

"Honestly..." She huffed, shaking her head with a small smile on her lips and stood to get her tea.

Guess her curiosity would have to wait, though she had a feeling she might just be winning a bet after all.

* * *

So sorry for the wait again! As always, thank you all my readers. I'm so glad you're liking the story so far and I hope I won't disappoint. This chapter is either the second or third to last chapter before it's over. I'm "working" on a sequel but we'll see.

This was kind of an awkward chapter and I was quite lost when writing it (half the reason it took so long) but I still hope you enjoyed. I wonder who Wendy has a bet with heeh~ until next time!


	13. Chapter 12

Oops. Sorry this took so long. I was spending most of my free time drawing lately. Hope you enjoy! (sorry it's not properly proof-read/edited ;A; )

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

"Where is he?"

Gray looked away from his wristwatch, not surprised to find Natsu briskly making his way down the hallway. "You're late." He commented instead of answering his question.

Natsu scowled. "Sorry. It took longer than expected to get ready."

Gray blinked. _Did Dragneel just_ apologize_?_ He shook his head to shake off the confusion then turned and pointed to the door behind him. "He's in there._ But—_" He shot an arm out to block Natsu from barging into the room. "—Erza and the Chief are in there too. They're trying to make a deal with him."

Natsu stepped back, a strange look in his eyes. "A deal?" He questioned through gritted teeth.

Gray took in Natsu's behavior and carefully thought over his response before speaking. "He says he has info that could help us but of course, he wants something out of it for his cooperation."

"_Cooperation_?" Natsu repeated testily. "He better have some hell of a piece of information if thinks he's getting out of anything."

"Apparently it's something big." Gray said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Though he hasn't breathed a word about what exactly it is."

"'course not." Natsu huffed, moving to lean against the wall. "Did we at least find out his name."

"Yeah," Gray responded, handing Natsu a file which he quickly took. Natsu flipped open the folder, reading over papers with furrowed brows. "His name is Orpheus Kobura. He's a hired hitman that likes to be paid full in cash."

"Meaning no bank records." Natsu snapped the folder shut, scowling again.

"It also means that his information has something to do with his client, most likely." Gray said, taking the folder back from him and tucking it under his arm. They shared a look. There was only one man's name they hoped would be brought up as the client.

_Cipherius Z. Brain._

* * *

A heavy silence fell between them as they both leaned against the wall, waiting for something to happen. It had been a half-hour and still things weren't negotiated. Natsu was growing impatient and it didn't go unnoticed by Gray. "How's Lucy?" He asked carefully.

Natsu tensed for a moment before shrugging. "She's fine." He answered simply.

Gray narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Where is she now?"

"She's..here."

"Here? Why is she here?" Gray questioned, giving Natsu a confused expression. Then something dawned on him. "Wait, where did Lucy stay last night?"

"Why does it matter to you, Detective Stripper?"

Gray blinked at Natsu's short response before a sly grin appeared on his lips. "You didn't, did you?"

"Of course not, pervert!" Natsu snapped. Gray looked at him skeptically, unnerving the man until he groaned. "Okay, she stayed at my place but I slept on the couch. Nothing happened."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, _really_."

Gray had to bite back a laugh as he noticed the unusual redness of Natsu's cheeks. This was priceless. "I wonder if Lucy's story would be the same."

Natsu's head whipped around to face Gray. "Of course!" He shouted.

"You said she was here, right? Maybe I should go ask her_—_" Gray's teasing was cut off by the sound of the door opening and revealing their Chief and Erza. The chief didn't look particularly surprised to see either of them standing there.

The balding man walked right past them and straight down the hallway. Natsu and Gray stared after him before looking to Erza for an answer. She sighed before presenting a triumphant smile.

"He took the deal."

* * *

"We got the results back from ballistics. The gun was never fired, the bullets don't even match the one's found on Sorano." Gray said, slamming a folder down on the table. "He was telling the truth."

"He could have been using a different gun." Natsu suggested.

Erza shook her head. "It doesn't fit his profile; he always uses poisons to kill, not guns."

Natsu flinched at her words. His thoughts instantly flashed back to Lucy but was snapped out of it when Erza spoke again. "Did we find out yet if Brain made a withdraw the same amount as Kobura was paid for Richard Buchanan?"

"Yes and no." Gray said.

Erza furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

Gray pulled open the folder he had just set down and handed a piece of paper from it to her. "It was actually twice the amount he said he was paid. My guess is it was payment for Yukino Aguria as well."

"He never said he killed Yukino."

"But the method, as you said, was clearly his doing." Gray said.

She looked over it before sighing and setting the paper down he had given her. "Even so, we can't tie Kobura either of those crimes."

"_What_?" Natsu asked through clenched teeth.

"It was part of the deal." Erza scowled, shaking her head again. "He's excused from both cases concerning Yukino and Richard."

"What about Heartfilia's?" Gray asked before Natsu could.

Erza took a deep breath then looked at Natsu with a hard to read expression. She took another deep breath before answering. "He's only being charged with breaking and entering."

"What?!" Natsu shouted, standing up with enough force to send his chair clattering to the floor. Both the other two stared at him before Erza stood up as well.

"I'm not happy about it either." She said, keeping her voice level though there was a distinct edge to it. "It was the Chief's decision so if you have a problem with it, you're going to have to take it up with him."

A heavy air filled the room as Natsu and Erza locked gazes. Gray swallowed, glancing between them. "Erza." He said carefully. Slowly she looked away from Natsu and to Gray. "What about if the information proves to be wrong?"

To that Erza gave an almost sly smile. "The Chief thought of that; if it turns out Kobura was lying, then the deal is off and he can be charged with all the cases along side whoever hired him."

"It's still a problem if he_ is_ telling the truth." Natsu said lowly, picking up his chair and plopping down into it in one rushed movement.

"Not necessarily." Erza objected. "He was just doing his job, however if Brain is responsible, then he can be charged with all of the crimes. And during the investigations of those crimes, we can look into Angel's murder as the Brain has become the most likely suspect."

Gray grinned. "And we can look for the chemical weapons."

"Exactly." Erza grinned back. It dropped from her face quickly as she remembered something. "There was something else Kobura told us about though, something that hasn't connected with anything else we know."

"What?" Natsu asked. There was still a clear annoyed tone in his voice though he managed to keep it in check.

Erza shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "He mentioned that Brain was working on something.. _Nirvit_."

"Nirvit?" Gray repeated.

"Yes." Erza tapped her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face as she explained. "He said Brain wanted to keep everyone quiet about it, he himself didn't know what it was. But apparently it's the reason he killed Sorano."

"Sounds like a dead lead," Gray commented, "we don't even know if she knew about Nirvit."

"She did."

Erza and Gray look to Natsu with surprise. "How do you know that?" Gray questioned.

Natsu grinned. "Her sister."


	14. Chapter 13

Fun fact: The name of this fic actually comes from a song by Evans Blue called "In a Red Dress and Alone." The sequel (if I end up writing it) will also have lyrics to one of their songs as the title.

Anyway sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima

* * *

"What do you mean 'her sister'?" Erza inquired, shooting Natsu a skeptical look. Gray mirrored her expression, crossing his arms as he waited for an explanation.

"Lucy talked with Yukino," Natsu began, "and she told me that Yukino had spoken with Sorano over the phone before she was killed. Apparently she went on and on about Nirvit. Yukino didn't seem to care but Sorano clearly did if she was raving about it so much."

Both Erza and Gray brightened at the new evidence but it was short lived. "That still doesn't really help us." Gray refuted, crossing his arms.

"We know now that Sorano knew about Nirvit." Natsu countered.

"We don't even know what Nirvit is." Erza shook her head.

She was right and Natsu frowned, his previous zealous deflating along with theirs. The air in the room hung in heavy silence until Gray suddenly snapped his fingers. A small grin appeared on his face, as he leaned in forward. "Unless Nirvit is the chemical weapons." He said.

"How could we prove that?" Erza asked skeptically. She didn't want to take the bait and let her hopes up again.

"With this new info from Kobura, we finally have enough to get a search warrant." Gray explained, moving his hands animatedly as he spoke. "With it, we'll pretty much have full access to everything at Brain's company. We might just even stumble upon the chemical weapons and info on Nirvit. If they're not same thing, even."

A sly grin found its way onto Natsu's lips as things finally fell into place. "Even if we find just the weapons," he said, "we can tie Brain to everything."

Gray nodded, sporting a similar smile. "If we find both we could get him for treason, for having Yukino, Richard, and almost Lucy killed, and possibly shooting Sorano himself."

"This deal with Kobura is sounding better and better to me." Natsu commented before both men turned to Erza.

She had remained eerily quite for awhile now. The woman continued not to speak as their anxious stares bore into her. Her expression was unreadable, and they were beginning to sweat nervously, until she abruptly stood up from her seat and effectively startling them. With her high heels tapping against the tile flooring of the police station, they watched as she strode towards the door. Her hand latched onto the handle but before she swung the door open, she looked back at them and flashed them a grin of her own.

"I'll see about getting that warrant."

* * *

Natsu lazily strode out of the conference room, a yawn escaping him. Though he usually slept fine on the couch, he had been up most of the night worrying. Just when he had finally got into a good sleep, it was already morning.

He trudged past the table where an aging coffee machine emitted the rich aroma of the miracle drink, but he resisted the urge to grab a cup of it, and continued on over to his desk where Lucy sat waiting. She had her back turned away from him, her arms and shoulders slumped onto the desk. As he drew closer, he could hear her steady breathing and realized she was asleep.

Hesitantly, he tapped her shoulder. She stirred a little but it didn't do much. He paused, considering, before he leaned down and whispered—_loudly whispered_—into her ear. "Hey, Lucy, wake up."

His hot breath in her ear jerked her awake instantly and she sat up quickly, nearly knocking him in the face with her head in the process. "N-Natsu!" She stuttered, a hand flying up to cover her ear.

"Hey," he greeted coolly, amused by the flustered expression she was giving him.

She sat up straighter, scrutinizing him warily and patted down her shirt that had gotten mussed during her slumber. "What?" She asked, still fussing with her blouse.

"Erza is working on getting a warrant and that leaves us with some time to burn." He replied, leaning against the edge of his desk and crossing his legs.

When he didn't continue, she looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "What do you want to do?" She inquired, squirming a little under his intense gaze.

"I'm starving; let's get some lunch." He said, then added, "Just the two of us."

Lucy's cheeks colored ever so slightly but she refrained from averting his gaze. "Alright," she agreed, keeping the squeak out of her voice. "The stuff they had at the hospital cafeteria was awful, I could go for some good food."

Natsu grinned and stood aside so she could stand up. She quickly brushed off her skirt before snatching her purse and following him down the row of cubicals to the exit. As they walked, he grabbed onto her hand, holding it firm in his. The slight blush returned to her cheeks but she didn't pull away.

"During lunch," Natsu said as they reached the main entrance, "let's not talk about the case."

He grabbed the door handle with his free band and pushed it open, allowing her to walk through first. "Alright," she said nodding as she passed him.

"Let's talk about us." He said a little more quietly.

Lucy's step faltered slightly but a soft smile formed on her lips at the look he gave her and she nodded again. "Alright."

* * *

A small click was heard as Mr. Klodoa entered Brain's office. The man didn't turn his chair around to face him, instead continued to stare out at his vast window. He spoke before Mr. Klodoa could. "I want you to contact Cobra, tell him I have a new target for him—Wendy Marvell." A crude smirk lifted onto his features that the other man didn't see from his spot near the door. "Her services as a witness will no longer be required."

"Sir?" Mr. Klodoa questioned, his voice edging on wary.

"The members on the board were just as I predicted—sellouts. I now hold full control over Fernandes Chemcials." Brain continued, rubbing his thumb over his clenched knuckles. "Fernandes has no use to me either, though he'll be rotting in prison for life anyway."

Mr. Klodoa swallowed, the sound loud in the otherwise quiet room. "Sir, I'm sorry but contacting Cobra will be impossible."

"_Oh_?"

Mr. Klodoa's hand twitched nervously. "Sir, Cobra is at the hospital in police custody."

A moment passed where complete silence filled the room again and Mr. Klodoa began sweating, waiting for his boss' response. Finally slowly, painfully slowly, Brain swiveled his chair around. His expression was stony and his hands tightly clenched together so that his veins stood out in relief. "Have him eliminated immediately." He said, his voice level.

Mr. Klodoa swallowed, his already pale skin growing whiter as more sweat pooled on his brow. "Sir." He began, the gangly man sucking in a breath as if to brace himself for what was to come next. "The police are here with a warrant to search the entire company, every last square inch."


	15. Chapter 14

Sorry for the wait again. I've been mostly spending all my free time drawing and kind of but really seriously avoiding writing this chapter all together. Oops. Anyways, hope you enjoy (this chapter is basically pure fluff, i don't even know what happened it just took on a life of its own) and thanks again for your continued support! You're all wonderful uwub

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

"_...the entire Oracion Seis factory has been shut down for the search and thus far, the only thing that has turned up were weapons not listed on the companies manufacturing list. The police say they will be further investigated while they continue to search for the weapon and location of sorano aguria's death. This brings to question however, if the search of this extent is really necessary-_"

Lucy flicked off the tv and tossed the remote aside. She stared at the blank screen for awhile, a scowl set on her features. Ever since the searching began a week ago, the only thing that had turned up were the chemical weapons. Or at least Gray hoped they were the right ones, but they still weren't any closer to proving Brain was behind anything. Now the entire police force was set to the task of going through every piece of document that Oracion Seis had just to find something. Needless to say, it was a daunting at best and had everyone working over-time.

Sighing, Lucy ran a hand through her loose hair and curled back further into Natsu's couch. She was currently alone at his apartment, much like she had been for the past several days. Though Wendy could sometimes keep her company, she had classes today and probably wouldn't be back until much later. Lucy had taken a leave from work for awhile so she didn't even have cheesy articles about beets and cornbread to keep her occupied. And as for Natsu, she would see him come and go but never for long. He too was elbows deep in work for the case, if not more so than the rest of his coworkers. He had made it that way. _For her._

Lucy's mind wandered back to the conversation she had with him over lunch and her cheeks flared up like a young school girl's. _She was nearly twenty-four for heavens sake!_ She scolded herself but still couldn't hold back the smile that curled onto her lips at the memory as it replayed in her head.

* * *

Lucy nervously tapped the tabletop with her finger, occasionally stealing glances at Natsu as he stood at the counter waiting for their food. They had decided to go to a small cafe for lunch and so far they had only spoken about menial things. She was dying to know what exactly he wanted to talk about, what he meant by "_us._" Unfortunately for her, instead of the cafe's usual crowd, they had had a burst of customers that day which made their wait for their food even longer and in turn delayed their conversation even longer.

As she silently cursed the other customers for all collectively being there at the exact time they were, Natsu returned to the table. He sat down in his seat with a thump and unceremoniously slapped down a plastic number card onto the table. "They gave me this," he said, sounding slightly perturbed as he indicated to the card. "They'll call the number when our food is ready."

Resisting the urge to slam her head on the table, Lucy pulled on a smile and nodded. "I'm sure it won't be long." She said.

Natsu grunted in response and a silence fell between them. The conversationless bubble that surrounded them felt unnatural in the otherwise noisy atmosphere and Lucy felt her nerves rise up again. Searching for something to do, she began fiddling with a loose string on the hem of her shirt. Natsu didn't try to get her attention either, instead fixing his gaze on the world outside the window.

The silence continued on like this for at least five minutes until one of the employees called out a two digit number over the loud speaker. Natsu didn't seem to catch it, his eyes still trained on a car parked across the street, so Lucy took it upon herself to check the number on their card with the one just spoken. "Natsu," she said to which he snapped back to attention. He raised an eyebrow, indicating for her to continue. She picked up the number card and waved it lightly. "Our order is ready."

Both Natsu's brows raised this time and he nodded, taking the card from her and standing to go retrieve their meal.

Lucy watched him go and return again a moment later with a large tray. He set it more gently onto the table than the card—though still with enough force to make the contents of the table shake—and sat down again.

"There are a lot of people here." Lucy said, guessing at what was setting him off most. Natsu only mumbled something in reply, taking his sandwich from the tray, and she sighed. "Maybe we could take our lunch somewhere else?" She offered. "What about the park?"

"It's too far away." Natsu dejected with a shake of his head.

Her smile dropped and she nodded. "Right." She said.

"We can just eat quickly and take a walk after."

Lucy looked up at him, her smile reappearing. "Right," she repeated more cheerfully than before.

Once their lunches had been finished, Natsu went to return their tray to the counter and Lucy went to wash her hands in the ladies room. As she stood before the small pedestal sink, her reflection staring back at her in the yellow light, she took a deep breath. She had been so eager before to hear what he meant earlier but now she was practically choking on nerves from the doubt she suddenly felt.

_What if what he wanted to talk about.. wasn't what she wanted to hear? If so, wouldn't it be better not to hear it at all?_

_No_. Lucy shook her head quickly, pushing the thought down. Even if it's not, she'd still have to hear it. It was only fair to Natsu.

Taking another deep breath to steady herself first, Lucy stepped out of the bathroom and found her way to Natsu who was waiting for her by the exit. When she approached he held open the door for her. Together they stepped out into the blazing sunlight and began to walk down main street. Despite the heat of the sun there was a small breeze that cooled the early afternoon, making it at least bearable.

Beside her, Natsu took in a breath of the fresh air and exhaled slowly. _Oh no,_ Lucy internally panicked, feeling the anxiety she thought she had pushed down before find its way back up. _Here it comes._

"Hey, Lucy?" Natsu said, staring straight ahead at the blocks that stretched before them.

"Yeah?" She mumbled back in response.

Natsu didn't say anything right away, like he was carefully considering what he was going to say and the wait added onto the summersaults Lucy felt in her stomach. Finally, he paused in his steps and looked at her with the most seriously expression he had even given her. "I love you."

Lucy's step faltered and she nearly tripped over her two feet at the declaration. Thankfully, she caught herself before she did and instead looked at him with wide eyes.

_Was she hearing things correctly?_

"W-what?" She managed to choke out.

Natsu's cheeks became an adorable shade of pink but he didn't avert his eye from hers. "I love you." He repeated without the slightest hint of doubt in his voice.

Lucy swallowed. _So she had heard him right, _she silently mused feeling more than a little mystified. Realizing in something of a daze that he was waiting for a response, she licked her lips and felt the hot blush on her own face as she replied, "I love you too."

The brightest grin flashed instantaneously onto Natsu face at her words and his eyes practically sparkled with joy. She smiled back at him, her chest swelling happiness until the smile slipped off his face and his serious expression returned.

"But we can't date." He said with a frown. Lucy felt her heart drop but having realized his mistake, Natsu quickly waved his hands before him and continued. "Not until we have Brain behind bars. Conflict of interest, something like that."

"Conflict..of interest?" Lucy parroted, her tone questioning.

"I'll be taken off the case." Natsu explained, looking off to the side with a slightly annoyed expression. His gaze slowly drifted back to hers. "After everything he's done to you, I want to catch that bastard myself."

"And you can't do that if.."

"If I'm off the case." Natsu nodded gravely.

"Right." Lucy sighed. Her gaze shifted to the ground, her heart feeling heavy as lead. She understood well enough, she would do the same thing, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Natsu cleared his throat. "But," He began but when Lucy didn't look up, Natsu stretched out his hand under her chin and tipped her head up. Their eyes locked again and his were filled with that overbearing confidence of his. "But that's why I'm going to work extra hard to catch that creep, the entire force will." He paused, flashing her a brilliant smile. "Then we can go on a date."

* * *

Lucy was startled out of her memories when she heard the door to Natsu's apartment being opened and slammed shut. She waited frozen to see who the person was when a head of pink emerged from around the corner. She let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding and stood up to greet him only to be met by his warm embrace. She was so startled by the action she didn't even have time to return the hug before he pulled away again. When she saw the bright grin he wore, she raised a brow. "What?" She questioned, a hint of a smile tugged at her lips.

Natsu's grin widened and his arms that were still holding onto her waist tightened. "We've got him."


	16. Chapter 15

Sorry if you guys thought that was the last chapter. This one actually is ha ha.

(also oops; some of you may have read the last chapter before I realized that I had accidentally left my writing notes at the bottom of it when I posted it. It's fixed now though. To those of you who did see just uh ~pretend~ you didn't see them yeah.)

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

* * *

It took her a moment to fully register Natsu's words. When they finally did, a smile crept onto her face as bright as his own. "How?" Lucy asked eagerly, wanting to know every detail.

"Well, almost got him." Natsu clarified, giving a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

Lucy gave him a skeptical look. "What do you mean 'almost?'"

"We found the gun that shot Sorano—ballistics tested and everything, it's a match—but it was wiped clean of fingerprints." Natsu explained, leading them to the couch. He plopped down into the cushions, followed by Lucy.

"But _where_ did you find the gun?" Lucy urged.

Natsu shrugged again. "One of the guys found it stashed in a locker at the factory."

Lucy sighed deeply and held her head in her hands. "How does that even help us; the gun could have been anybodies then."

"That's the fun part though." Natsu said, to which Lucy lifted her head and looked at him hopefully. "The gun is registered to Brain."

Lucy sat up higher, willing the smile off her face and trying to keep the hope down. "Then that means we just need to prove he shot her?"

"Yep." Natsu nodded assuredly.

She could feel the excitement rising but she wouldn't let it just yet. "And the chemical weapons?"

To that, Natsu's expression went from confident looking to completely confused. "You'll have to ask Fullbuster about that; I have no idea."

Lucy gave him a blank stare before sighing again and then allowing herself just a little smile. "It's a start, I guess." She admitted. Then something else came to mind. "Has Brain been apprehended?"

"Oh!" Natsu exclaimed, quickly standing up from the couch. "Yeah, they're taking him to the station now. I figured you'd want to be there when we started questioning him."

Lucy sat up straighter at the prospect of going but hesitated. "Are you sure I'm even allowed to be?" She questioned.

"'course." Natsu said matter-of-factly. Lucy looked at him skeptically and he quickly gave way under her scrutiny. "Well, okay, _maybe_. But come on, it should be fine!"

Lucy had to repress a third sigh as she got up too and ran to catch up with him as he made his way back out the door.

* * *

It didn't take them long to get the station and by the time they did, Erza and the Chief had already begun their questioning of Brain. Just like with Kobura, Gray was waiting for them outside the room. He shortly greeted them before leading them into the room next to one the others were in. In it already was officer Jet, who also greeted them and then motioned for them to be silent. The conversation from the next room could be heard through a speaker and they could see the scene through the one-way mirror.

While the others stood close to the mirror, Lucy edged back more. The second she had seen Brain—the man who had ordered to have her_ killed_—a chill had run down her spine. Even though she knew he couldn't see her, it was difficult to even be in the same building as him.

She suddenly felt a warm hand wrap around her own and give it a squeeze. Her eyes trailed up the arm it connected to and, unsurprisingly enough, found it belonging to Natsu. He gave her a beseeching look, as if to ask if she was alright, and she returned the silent question with a small smile. His touch was reassuring and though she still felt quite uncomfortable being so close to Brain, Lucy felt she could breathe just a little easier now.

Their attention was brought back to the interrogation as Erza slapped a thick file down on the metal table.

"We have quite a few incriminating pieces of evidence against you, Mister Brain." The Chief said, indicating to the file.

A sly smile crept onto Brain's face. "That depends on whose opinion that is."

Erza opened her mouth to retort but the Chief raised his hands to silence her. Instead he spoke, his tone cool and carrying with it a grave air of seriousness. "Mister Brain, let's not beat around the bush on this; these are serious matters."

"I agree." Brain nodded lightly. "My entire empire is on the line here, after all."

The Chief made a gruff sound before sliding the file in front of himself and flipping it open. "Then since we're in agreement, let's begin." Carefully he started listing off all the violations one by one. Brain stayed silent while the Chief spoke but if looking closely enough, you could see the falter in his rich smugness and the ever so slight twitch of his eye the longer he went on. When he had finished, the Chief looked up from the file and tented his hands together.

"How about we discuss the gun?" He offered though his tone made it clear that there was no option for declining. When Brain nodded again, Erza tossed a bullet inside of a plastic bag onto the table and it rolled over in front of Brain. His eyes locked onto the gleaming metal shell and then up to the red head before looking back to the Chief.

"Yes?" He inclined, an eyebrow edging upward.

"This is the bullet used to kill Sorano Aguria."

Brain blinked twice, his brows raising higher with faux interest. "Is that so?"

"That's right. And interestingly enough," the Chief said, leaning forward, "it was shot out of the same gun that is registered under your name."

"I have never shot that gun."

"Oh really? Then mind telling us where you were the night before her death?"

"I was working late that night in my office." Brain answered, slowly and deliberately sounding out each word. "Security records can prove it."

"Hmm." The Chief hummed lowly, then looked down to the file again and pulled out a single slip of paper. "And just what were you, and miss Aguria—we know she was with you, security records show it, just like you said."

"The current project we were working on. She was managing it."

"And this _project_, it wouldn't happen to do anything with 'Nirvit,' now would it?"

Subtle twitch of the eye again. "No." Brain replied evenly.

The room grew coldly silent and Erza glanced at the Chief out of the corner of her eye. She was about to speak up when the Chief did it again instead. "You know, Mister Brain," he said, tenting his hands once more and looking the man across from him straight in the eye. "Things would be a whole lot easier if you were just honest with us."

Brain gave the Chief a cold stare but his poker face remained unchanged. "I assure you, I'm being completely honest."

The Chief shook his head. "Enough playing games. Want to know something fun about computers, mister Brain?" Brain slowly sat back, something flaring behind his eyes but he gave no answer so the Chief continued. "No matter how much you try to erase or hide the records, we're always able to recover it."

Right on time, Erza plopped another file onto the table. This one was three times the size as the other and its weight shuttered the table as it was set down. The Chief placed his hand on top of the file and patted it twice. He looked at it near lovingly and then back to Brain.

"What's that?" Lucy asked in a whisper from the other side of the glass. Jet shh'd her again but Gray turned to her and grinned.

"Just wait and see," he said with a hint of mirth in his answer.

"We have every piece of information connected to Nirvit in here." The Chief said with another pat of the file. "This thing is chock full of rather intriguing emails back and forth between leaders in Seven. Top this off with the physical chemical weapons we found stowed away in your factory, they're quite incriminating."

This time Brain showed a reaction. His brow was sheen with sweat and he swallowed. "I don't believe I was called in here about any of that." He said, managing to keep his voice even.

"No," the Chief answered. Then he too grinned. "I guess you don't know much about security footage either."

Brain swallowed.

"You probably had someone alter the footage, right? Erase the scene where you shot Miss Aguria." The Cheif went on. "But thankfully for us, even though they did an excellent job, there is always a way to tell if a tape is forged."

"You should probably hire a new cleaning crew, Mister Brain." Erza cut in. The man's panicked eyes drifted to hers. "Turns out they're not very good at getting rid of blood stains from the woven carpets of your office."

* * *

Lucy burst out of the court room doors, the cool September air blowing past her as she left the aged building. Her heels clicked on the stairs as she made her way down them, heading towards the parking lot. They sounded like a melody to her ears.

The trial had just ended and Brain had been convicted as guilty. A formal investigation was to be held for the matters concerning the treason but as for the murder of Sorano and the hired hits on Yukino and Richard, Brain was going to be spending a lot of time in prison for that alone.

Lucy didn't restrain the smile she had at the thought of him getting his just desserts for his crimes. She always loved when justice prevailed.

The smile still adorned her face as she slid into the black leather seats of the red car parked right up from. "Good day, detective Natsu Dragneel." She greeted as she buckled herself in.

Natsu flashed her a brilliant grin from the drivers seat and leaned over so their faces were inches apart. "Lucy." She giggled and quickly closed the distance between them.

She supposed she also loved this, too.

* * *

...and that's it! Cheesy ending is cheesy but alas. Thank you all so much for reading! I really hope that everything made sense (even just a little) or at the very least, that you enjoyed the story. The sequel probably won't be happening for awhile, as I have quite a few other AUs I'd like to focus on writing/drawing first but hopefully I'll be able to write it one day.

Thank you all again. Peace out.


End file.
